🚨 New report alert! 🚨 Our new study for the European Parliament on transnational repression in the EU is live! Co-authored with @zecsaky.bsky.social, @emiledirks.bsky.social, and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social: a great team to work with.

"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital." How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Our PRISONBREAK report @citizenlab.ca is cited in this new NYT story on the manipulation of narratives surrounding the Iranian protests.

Irancell’s CEO was dismissed over delays in internet shutdowns. Doran & Yaftar are tasked with developing DPI to detect Starlink-connected VPNs. Mohammad Amin Aghamiri & Mehdi SeifAbadi are key decision-makers. filter.watch/english/2026...

If you want to know about the future of AI, take a look at the kaleidoscope of disinfo and psychological operations underway in Iran 🇮🇷 This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

It was an honor (and exciting) to testify on transnational repression and how to address it in the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag. Let’s hope the interest in the issue translates into concrete steps for better protecting those at risk. www.bundestag.de/dokumente/te...

Amidst mass killings and internet shutdowns the Iranian regime has also found a way to jam access to Starlink: restofworld.org/2026/iran-st... @restofworld.org

After taking to the streets, people in Iran have now been disconnected from the rest of the world for more than five days. That’s +120 hours in the dark! Alongside +19 orgs, we demand that authorities immediately restore internet access and uphold rights. www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

"What keeps the Iranian regime alive is its lethal force." Difficult to apprehend how this will end. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

1/ Russian disinfo sponsors can’t believe their luck at the chaos spurred by their American counterparts. Not only politicians, but their tech enablers too, of course. Meet “Budjetti”. “She” is on X, of course. Openly antisemitic, racist, anti-Ukraine. And completely unchallenged.

New article by Citizen Lab senior legal advisor @sanstis.bsky.social 👉 "Civil society and access to justice: challenges of seeking remedy in the global fight against spyware" Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....

For 8 days people in #Iran are protesting because daily life has become impossible. Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities. Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point. 1/5

Zumretay Arkin is sharing her experience with Transnational Repression by China. Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe. Follow me for more info on how to do that.

Autocratic regimes intimidate people in exile by threatening their families in their home countries. That’s why we have to #StopTransnationalRepression. Follow me for more info on how to do that.

I am happy to see this article about the team I am proud to be part of and to manage every day. All my love to the most outstanding team.( Helpline at @accessnow.org ) Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware. techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/m...

Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone: a profile of @rondeibert.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...

For years, TNR experts like @nateschenkkan.bsky.social have long warned that immigration policy is key to confronting transnational repression. This piece shows how host states are now contributing to the repression of Uyghur exiles and diaspora communities. #TNR www.economist.com/china/2025/1...

The German government completely refuses to tell parliament whether German federal police uses unlawfully processed mass behavioral/location data from digital advertising for surveillance purposes or not. Highly problematic in terms of democratic accountability. netzpolitik.org/2025/sicherh...

Great report from @cdt.org on the failures of export control around spyware in the EU.

The RSF Berlin Fellowship 2026 is open for applications! Journalists from countries with restricted press freedom can apply for a safe stay in #Berlin, digital security training, resilience workshops and networking. It runs from June until November. www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/fellowship-p...

4/ Third: We are able to attribute a long-running operation known as "Endless Mayfly" (H/T @citizenlab.ca) to Iran's International Union of Virtual Media. This operation spanned networks we disrupted from 2018 through 2024 and was active across numerous online platforms.

A free #internet remains the only barrier against propaganda & intimidation. As the EP's Delegation for Relations with the People of #Iran, we urge major tech companies to strengthen support for secure, uncensored internet access in Iran. 1/5

⚠️Apple and Google have sent a new round of cyber threat notifications to users around the world, the companies said this week. Cyber notifications span at least 🌍80 countries. www.reuters.com/technology/a...

What started 10yrs ago as a bunch of academics investigating how authoritarian rulers reach across borders, now on stage at the European Parliament: little moment of pride for research and advocacy on transnational repression.

1/ Today we release a new report exposing previously undisclosed entities connected to the wider #Intellexa ecosystem as well as newly identified activity clusters in Iraq and indications of activity in Pakistan: www.recordedfuture.com/research/int...

Deutsche Welle is blocked in many countries. BigTech bans apps from their stores so that they can do business in autocracies. DW is responding with ‘DW - Access’. It circumvents censorship, can be installed directly, and can be used during an internet shutdown. corporate.dw.com/en/dw-access...

New paper from @gabriellelim.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social et al. on the methodology of digital rights governance research and avoiding the “kitchen sink approach.” Read it in Internet Policy Review: policyreview.info/articles/ana...

AI is reshaping how we live, work, and communicate. But how will it change democracy? On Dec 2 join #UofT's Bruce Schneier, Beth Coleman & @rondeibert.bsky.social for "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship." munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/rewiri...

Transnational Repression Escalates: Sexual Violence and Threats Against Zimbabwean Journalist in Exile in Sweden ldsf.info/blog/2025/11...

Join us tomorrow at 9:30 am EST.

…as we @citizenlab.ca have shown time and time again. Just check our #PRISONBREAK, #JUICYJAM, #HKLEAKS, Endless Mayfly, and many more reports.

As part of a special issue of @iojournal.bsky.social w/ an amazing cast of scholars, Rebecca Cordell & I wrote a piece on the future of human rights given the rise of authoritarian powers and alliances. Check out "Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights" open access here:

This is fantastic. I just enabled this on Signal Desktop, under Settings --> Chats.

Join us next week for an interesting conversation on WPS and digital authoritarianism.

Join us on Nov 26 to explore how gender, technology, and authoritarianism intersect to shape women’s participation in peace and security. Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi... @amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social

Absolutely vile

25 years after UNSC’s landmark resolution recognizing women’s roles in peacemaking, how can we conceptualize digital transnational repression within feminist peace & security frameworks? Join @citizenlab.ca for an insightful discussion on UNSCR 1325 in the digital age.

What used to be bugs and informants is now #spyware. Bringing together victims of #Stasi surveillance and #spyware to discuss: How can we protect #freedom in the digital age? 🗓️ November 12, 18:30 #BerlinFreedomWeek Register here 👇 www.berlin-freedom-week.com/en/event/sta...

Was früher Wanzen & Spitzel waren, ist heute #Spyware. Wie schützt man #Freiheit im digitalen Zeitalter? 🗓️ 12.11., 18:30 Uhr #BerlinFreedomWeek Infos & Anmeldung 👇 www.berlin-freedom-week.com/event/von-st...

Today’s WhatsApp v NSO injunction is a BIG DEAL & may essentially kill Pegasus spyware *as we know it.* To comply, NSO would have to ensure that their spyware cannot access WhatsApp messages or break WhatsApp’s encryption. This means that NSO can no longer offer “unlimited” access to victims’ 📱s

Article ALERT: doi.org/10.1080/1058... Towards the Comparative Study of Domestic Influence Operations: Cyber Troops and Elite Competition in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand – Political Communication How do domestic online influence operations vary across countries, and why?🧵

The deportation of pro-democracy dissidents to their home countries is a major reversal of years of U.S. policymaking on a topic that had bipartisan support.

As the US shifts from fighting transnational repression to facilitating it, Europe needs to step up: condemn Trumps actions and provide shelter for dissidents fleeing authoritarianism. Great piece by @nateschenkkan.bsky.social

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

During the Iran-Israel war, civilians in Iran had little access to trustworthy information. AI deepfakes circulated online exacerbated this situation. What are the implications? @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:

1/Citizen Lab’s new report on PRISONBREAK is a must-read. It exposes an AI-enabled influence operation targeting Iran with deceptive media, from the infamous Evin Prison gates video to deepfake music.

1/ NEW REPORT: “We Say You Want a Revolution” - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime. We call it PRISONBREAK. Keep reading to find out why. THREAD 🧵

3 years on, there is still complete impunity for crimes committed during & since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in #Iran. Victims & their families deserve justice. @hrw.org 👉 www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Author copies for Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics by me & @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social arrived today! If you re-post this by Sept 30 we'll put you in a drawing & send the winner a free signed copy anywhere they happen to be on the planet.