The Lebanese Parliament’s May 27 draft media law promised progress, ending pretrial detention and scrapping criminal defamation. But August's amendments risk turning it into a tool of repression. smex.org/lebanon-ensu...

We celebrate Alaa's freedom after being unjustly jailed for so many years. He should have never been there. And we echo his mother Laila Soueif – whose campaign for her son's release was so incredibly inspiring – when she says she won't rest until there are no political prisoners in Egypt.

Our dear friend Alaa Abdel Fattah will finally be released into freedom. After years of pressure from civil society, Egypt finally did the right thing and granted him amnesty. We can’t wait to see Alaa reunite with his family and loved ones.

Is your device acting out? Don’t ignore the signs. This short guide provided by our Digital Forensics Lab (DFL) walks you through what to look for, what not to do, and the safe steps to take next, whether you are using an Android or an iOS device.

#Lebanon 🇱🇧 Maharat Foundation, @smex.org, and rights groups warn the draft media law could weaken free expression by allowing pretrial detention and vague defamation rules, urging parliament to ensure safeguards for journalists and transparent debate.

📢 Register now! Civil society must be central to digital governance! Join the @CADE_project consortium for the launch of our Mapping & Baseline Study (EN/FR/ES/PT). Discover barriers, solutions & next steps for inclusive participation. 🔗 us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #CADE

Great news for everyone! We've created tickets at reduced prices to accommodate all attendees. Head to our website breadandnet.org and get your discounted community ticket for the price of $40 to attend the event in person, in full. Students get in for free!

🌍 CADE launches Youth Voices for Digital Rights! 15 young advocates from Africa, Asia, LatAm & Europe will help shape internet governance, build advocacy skills & co-create a Youth Manifesto. 👉 Learn more: www.forus-international.org/en/campaigns... #DigitalRights #YouthVoices #CADE

Like Meta, Google and YouTube misclassified numerous smear and hate campaigns targeting organizations and individuals such as the Hind Rajab Foundation and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, letting them bypass restrictions and reach wider audiences. www.misbar.com/en/editorial...

Like Meta, Google and YouTube misclassified numerous smear and hate campaigns targeting organizations and individuals such as the Hind Rajab Foundation and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, letting them bypass restrictions and reach wider audiences.

"We're punished for using our own language." On social media, Arabic words for "menopause" and "consent" get flagged as "explicit," silencing SRHR advocates in Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, and Egypt. smex.org/new-content-...

#MENA 🌍 Meet @SMEX.org’s 2024 Mariam Al-Shafei Fellows! From digital resilience for women defenders in #Yemen to freedom of expression in #Lebanon, these four advocates are advancing tech & human rights across the region. buff.ly/q0QaUeM #DigitalRights

Important analysis from Stephanie Nasr on how content moderation is failing SRHR advocates in the MENA region, making it harder to share vital health information online. bit.ly/46h0KZV via @SMEX.org

Bread&Net is West Asia and North Africa’s oldest digital rights gathering, bringing together journalists, advocates, researchers, and technologists from the region and beyond. We can’t wait to welcome old friends and make new ones this year! Head to breadandnet.org and secure your spot.

How can Lebanon claim to be ready for digital transformation, AI integration, or e-governance when its internet infrastructure cannot meet the needs of today’s world? Full analysis: smex.org/what-are-the...

#Palestine 🇵🇸 #Meta’s biased ad policies silence Palestinian voices, letting pro-Israel content spread unchecked, distorting public discourse. @smex.org research calls for urgent reforms to ensure fairness and transparency. buff.ly/l0lUpT2

We see the internet as a shared home, one we can build together to reflect our vision for a safer space across West Asia and North Africa. This October, we’re opening our doors for you to sit with us at Bread&Net 2025. Sign up on our website - Students access for free! breadandnet.org

It was very disappointing, though not surprising, to hear from my colleagues at the @smex.org helpdesk that they have seen an uptick in hate speech in Syria. Read more insights from this year so far: smex.org/smexs-digita...

#MENA 🌐 Women, minorities, and human rights defenders face growing online threats, from account suspensions to sexual blackmail. @smex.org’s Digital Safety Helpdesk documents the risks and challenges in holding platforms accountable. Read their latest update:

After months of work and advocacy with the Lebanese government, we released a groundbreaking paper with telecom expert Wassim Mansour uncovering key gaps in Lebanon’s telecom sector. It offers concrete recommendations to boost transparency, accountability, and governance. smex.org/policy-paper...

Good news for students! Free entry to #BreadandNet 2025 🥳 Just present a valid university ID to [email protected] when you register at breadandnet.org. We’re excited to welcome you to the region’s largest digital rights gathering this October, in Beirut.

Registration is open! If you want to be part of the largest digital rights gathering in the West Asia and North Africa region, head to our website and sign up to attend. Students access the event for free!

Registration is open! If you want to be part of the largest digital rights gathering in the West Asia and North Africa region, head to our website and sign up to attend. Students access the event for free!

We’re opening our doors to 50+ speakers from across West Asia and North Africa to share their real-life work and experiences advocating for a free and open internet. Join us in Beirut this October at the region’s largest digital rights meetup! 🎟️ Free registration for students. breadandnet.org.

Meta claims that less violations are occurring on its platforms since it updated its policy in January, according to its 2025 Q1 report. In reality, the platform has scaled back its own hate speech detection and now relies more on biased user reports. Our full analysis: smex.org/meta-claims-...

We’ve joined @accessnow.org and 16 organizations in calling on the Syrian government to #KeepItOn and immediately restore internet access in Suwayda. Shutdowns block access to emergency aid, disrupt essential services, and silence those documenting abuses. www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

Often referred to as “Lebanon’s oil,” the telecom sector is one of the country’s most lucrative sectors. Yet, decades of corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of oversight still hinder the sector’s development and reforms.

Syrian authorities must secure internet access in #Sweida at all costs. Telecom blackouts aid the dangerous spread of fabricated news while disconnecting people from one another. smex.org/syrians-repo...

We analyzed 4,500+ ads on social media platforms during key moments in Israel’s war on Gaza. Pro-Palestinian ads, even coming from humanitarian orgs, were removed faster and more often than pro-Israeli ones that violated the same rules. Read the full findings: smex.org/when-transpa...

#Palestine 🇵🇸 Biased takedowns. Opaque systems. Disappearing transparency tools. @SMEX.org’s latest research shows how #Meta’s political ad policies fail to protect digital rights and obstruct fair oversight by civil society. buff.ly/RCx2pQo

After 10 months of his mother’s hunger strike, Egypt removed Alaa Abdel Fattah from its terrorism list. Yet he remains imprisoned without charges. Egypt must #FreeAlaa now. @freedomforalaa.bsky.social newarab.com/news/egypt-c...

We've extended the deadline to submit a proposal for Bread&Net 2025! If you've got ideas, we want to hear them. ALL of them! breadandnet.org

We join @pressfreedom.bsky.social and global human rights groups in calling for the immediate release of Sonia Dahmani, a Tunisian lawyer unjustly imprisoned under Decree 54 for exercising free expression. 📝 Read the joint statement: cpj.org?p=496431

@smex.org' Bread&Net is back this October in Beirut! This unconference brings together activists, technologists, researchers, and artists from across West Asia and North Africa to explore the intersection of tech, freedom, and justice. Submit your proposal before July 15. buff.ly/8KXhnwm

Imagine waking up to find your most intimate conversations dumped in a pool of confessions on Instagram. How could something go so wrong? smex.org/meta-ais-dar...

📢 We’re excited to share that Lebanon IGF 2025 will take place on 2-3 December 2025, hosted by the American University of Beirut at the Beirut Digital District! Workshop proposals are now open! Submit an idea for a session by August 3, 2025. 🔗 Details & submission form: igflebanon.org/workshop/

What does Whatsapp's new AI chatbot mean for privacy? It's not great, but you can still do a few things to make sure your data is *somewhat protected. Tech policy expert Dia Kayyali walks us through the risks and alternatives. smex.org/whatsapp-get...

#Global 🌐 With ads and #AI added to #WhatsApp, @SMEX.org reveals how Meta is eroding user privacy and raising risks for those needing secure communication.

We are joining eight human rights organizations to denounce #Bahrain's new repressive amendments to the press law. Read the full statement here. ⬇️ www.accessnow.org/press-releas... @accessnow.org

🚨 A new report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese exposes corporate complicity in the genocide of Palestinians, naming tech giants like Google and Amazon. We wrote about this last year and the warnings still stand. Read our piece: smex.org/tech-at-the-...

Just this week, President Trump signed an order lifting sanctions on Syria. Our friends at @accessnow.org explain what this will mean for Syria’s digital future: www.accessnow.org/syria-sancti...

#Bahrain 🇧🇭 @pressfreedom.bsky.social and 8 rights groups warn that proposed press law amendments could entrench repression, despite claims of reform. Vague licensing rules and continued use of anti-terror laws threaten online expression and press freedom. buff.ly/P7SOOr7 @smex.org

SMEX stands in solidarity with Laila Soueif and demands the immediate release of her son, his continued detention is a violation of basic rights and a failure of justice. #FreeAlaa #SaveLaila @freedomforalaa.bsky.social

💼 @smex.org‬‬‬ is #hiring a Communications Manager! Deadline: June 19. See this and other job openings in our Digital Rights Job Board: buff.ly/3BcDSOJ #TechJobs #DRJobs #JobSearch

💼 @smex.org‬‬‬ is #hiring a Website Development Service! Deadline: June 20. See this and other job openings in our Digital Rights Job Board: buff.ly/3BcDSOJ #TechJobs #DRJobs #JobSearch

Meet the panelists! Apar Gupta @internetfreedom.bsky.social @davidakaye.bsky.social @monajem.bsky.social @smex.org

Looking for a wrap-up of digital rights news and updates from the WANA region? 📨 Subscribe to #TheByte, our monthly newsletter. From this month's issue: AI Investments in the Gulf, Starlink in Lebanon, job openings, and Bread&Net 2025 eepurl.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

SMEX is attending IGF 2025 in Norway to participate, speak, and engage with the global internet governance community @intgovforum.bsky.social Under this year’s theme, "Building Digital Governance Together," the forum offers a range of sessions exploring key digital rights issues.

Boosting the signal as Gaza enters its fourth day of a worsening communications blackout. #ReconnectGaza.

If your work falls at the intersection of technology and human rights, we’re looking for you for Bread&Net 2025. Submit a workshop, talk, or presentation before July 15, 2025. Want to know more? Visit breadandnet.secure-platform.com/site/ or reach out on [email protected].