SMEX is thrilled to announce the return of Bread&Net, the annual Arabic-language unconference to strengthen and defend human rights in digitally networked spaces in the MENA region. Join us from 15 to 17 November 2019 at Antwork in Beirut! We took your comments and feedback from last year’s inaugural Bread&Net[...]
On November 20 and 21, around 200 people from over 20 countries gathered together in Beirut for 35 panels, talks, and workshops at Bread&Net, the region’s digital rights unconference. Hosted by SMEX and organized collaboratively with supporters and partners, Bread&Net created an offline space for discussion about technology and society, in[...]
Feature image via the cleaners: Who is controlling what we see… and what we think? The Web that was once created to be public, free, and open is not the same anymore. Almost everything we do online these days is controlled by private companies; whether we are sending an email (through[...]
Feature image via Freedom House, November 2018: A map of Freedom House’s “Internet Freedom” rankings. In collaboration with Freedom House, SMEX assessed internet freedom in Lebanon as part of the organization’s Freedom on the Net 2018 Report. Lebanon’s “Internet Freedom Score” increased from 46 in 2017 to 47 in 2018,[...]
Feature image via the Daily Star, August 2018: An “Ugly” New Data Protection Law in Lebanon. The English translation of Chapter 5 of the E-Transactions Law concerning the processing of personal data can be found at the end of the article. An “Ugly” New Data Protection Law in Lebanon The[...]
Many websites and hyperlinks to unverified WhatsApp applications–marketed as “WhatsApp Plus” and promising its users additional features for free–are being shared widely on Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social media. SMEX (smex.org), an organization whose mission is to spread digital awareness and understanding of digital rights, warns that these applications have[...]
According to a statement from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), several WhatsApp users have complained that their accounts have been hacked and their information stolen by unknown parties who managed to exploit SMS activation codes sent by the company to users’ phones via SMS. These unknown parties are scamming[...]
Feature image October 26, 2017: The Great Departed playing in Zurich. On May 11, SMEX and Lebanese band Al-Rahel Al-Kabir (The Great Departed) launched a petition demanding that iTunes Middle East release a public explanation for its refusal to upload five of the band’s songs, which mock religious fundamentalism, political[...]
In the final days of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the world gasped in disbelief as the administration of President Hosni Mubarak shut down access to the Internet and all mobile communications. At the time, it was inconceivable that a government would cut off people’s access to the internet and mobile[...]
On May 6, Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections for the first time since 2009, following three consecutive extensions of the parliament’s mandate, totalling one full term. Since the last general election, internet penetration in Lebanon has increased exponentially from 25 percent to around 80 percent. The usage of social media,[...]
