We are organisations working globally to strengthen democracy and human rights. Today we are demanding that Facebook, Google, and Twitter urgently demonstrate the concern they have claimed toward democratic processes in the United States to the remaining 96% of humanity. Immediate action is needed to avoid further aiding and abetting[...]
The last weeks have witnessed an increase in reported cases of people losing access to their WhatsApp accounts. At first users suspected their accounts got banned or blocked as a result of not agreeing to WhatsApp’s latest privacy policy. The new update had threatened to delete the account of those[...]
Wikipedia: a long history of collaborative knowledge production and free access, and some bots too.
Tech and media companies are exploiting free, popular apps to increase their access to personal data; and WhatsApp has just followed suit. The app has been sending notifications about an odd update to its privacy policy. The latest policy grants Whatsapp permission to share users’ data with its parent company,[...]
At SMEX, we are looking for an in-house technologist to join our team. He or She will be working with a senior technologist on developing the technology within SMEX. This is a part-time position that requires good understanding of the digital rights scene in the Arab region and globally. Key[...]
17 December 2020, Ten years ago today, 26-year old Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest over injustice and state marginalization, igniting mass uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Arab[...]
Bread&Net 2020nline welcomed more than 800 participants from 32 countries on Hopin this year! Over four eventful days, Bread&Net hosted 63 diverse sessions, with over 100 speakers who joined us and shared their valuable insights. Totalitarian Arab regimes, weak and monopolized telecommunications infrastructures, armies of bots promoting fake news, increased[...]
In areas such as North and East Syria, internet sources are becoming increasingly limited and difficult to come by. Against the backdrop of anarchy, war, threats of extremist organizations and complex power struggles plaguing the region, lack of internet access has become another critical problem to be addressed. After protests[...]
Almost a year ago, on October 29, I received a WhatsApp notification informing me that Israeli spyware Pegasus had hacked my phone. I had expected them to tap my phone calls—I was enduring increased security harassment at that time—but I never thought they would use such spyware, especially with WhatsApp’s[...]
The research manager is a mid-level position that oversees all aspects of SMEX digital rights research projects from conception to completion. Their work product is the evidence-based foundation for SMEX campaigns, expertise development programs, and policy briefs. They work closely with all members of the SMEX team and report to[...]
