Over the past year, the digital rights movement in our region, West Asia and North Africa, has gained unprecedented momentum. More and more people are questioning the role of technology in reshaping, restricting, and defining their daily lives: What dangers do we face from surveillance, the militarization of technology, data exploitation, and online repression?
At SMEX, the struggles we encountered in 2024 expanded and deepened our commitment to our mission: to defend freedom of expression and the right to privacy to sustain a safer digital space. With Israel’s war on Lebanon and the genocide in Gaza, which is yet to come to complete halt, and the upheavals shaking the region to this day, we could not stand idle. We chose to double down on our efforts across several fronts, confident that our contributions can make an impact.
- In 2024 alone, SMEX’s Digital Safety Helpdesk handled more than 1,500 cases, most of which were sent in by activists and journalists. Meanwhile, the Digital Forensics Lab (DFL) conducted 27 investigations into potential spyware found on the devices of individuals who sought our support.
- We launched the MasarTech 2025 Fund and the Digital Rights Fund, through which we supported 25 projects across 8 countries, with grants exceeding $600,000, aimed at countering censorship and defending digital rights.
- Through the Mariam Al-Shafei Fellowship, we continued to empower researchers for a second year, selecting five fellows from across the region to explore digital rights issues in their home countries.
- We also published 91 articles featuring contributions from 34 writers alongside hundreds of videos and social media posts. Our publications documented violations and demanded accountability from those targeting us both online and offline.
- In May 2024, we hosted Bread&Net online under the theme “Digital Rights in Times of War.” Together, we discussed content takedowns, surveillance, and internet shutdowns. While we canceled the in-person event in solidarity with Gaza and Lebanon, we insisted on meeting virtually, seeking immediate dialogue on ways to counter unprecedented threats posed by the war.
- We also published 14 studies that strengthened our campaigns and achieved key victories before Meta’s Oversight Board—from overturning the ban on the Arabic word for “martyr” to pushing for a reconsideration of how the phrase “from the river to the sea” is treated—through the MENA Alliance for Digital Rights (MADR).
Despite the immense challenges we faced, as many of our team members in Lebanon were enduring war, displacement, and loss, we continued to provide support, document violations, and raise our voices. The hardships of 2024 reaffirmed the urgency of pressing on, so we are not left at the mercy of companies that disregard our rights and profit off our safety and security.
Today, more than ever, we insist on collaboration, connection, and persistence, to build a future that does not silence us, and a world that respects our rights and prioritizes our safety.
Read or download the full report here.
SMEX-2024-Annual-Activity-Report