SMEX • 08 Aug 2024

Digital Safety Helpdesk: Meta Suspends More Lebanese WhatsApp Accounts

Last June, the Digital Safety Helpdesk at SMEX handled a surge in account suspensions and activity restrictions, which comprised 38%…

Safaa Ayyad • 05 Aug 2024

South Lebanon: “We are at risk of being disconnected from the world”

Last March, Ali Farhat’s landline was disconnected after an Israeli strike hit his neighborhood in the town of Bar’ashit, South…

Salam Freihat • 31 Jul 2024

Jordan: When is it illegal for authorities to check your phone? 

Arrests of pro-Palestine activists in Jordan have increased amid the escalation of the Israeli war on Gaza.  During the detention…

Lucy Parseghian • 29 Jul 2024

Lebanese authorities punish and humiliate Google reviewers

To document his bad experience at a dental clinic, Adel (a pseudonym) posted a review on Google. Despite adhering to…

Afnan Abu Yahya • 27 Jul 2024

Beyond numbers: What does the “World Press Freedom Index” really indicate?

The 2024 “World Press Freedom Index” (WPF Index), issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on World Press Freedom Day on…

Youssef Al Amin • 24 Jul 2024

How journalists can protect their privacy: legal and technical recommendations 

A journalist in Lebanon was recently forced to hand her phone, password, messaging content, and information sources to the Information…

Alhasnaa Adra • 23 Jul 2024

Exam shutdowns in Syria: financial and human losses 

Despite a global trend towards improving the speed, quality, and availability of internet services, Syria still disrupts access to the…