7amleh held a series of 8 webinars surrounding the issue of digital rights during the corona virus pandemic.

Due to the Corona Virus Pandemic spreading throughout the world, many aspects of daily life such as school and work, as well as private conversations necessarily moved to the digital sphere. In the light of these changes, the importance of digital rights increased due to the moving of many aspects of life to the digital sphere, while, at the same time, violations of digital rights have increased under the guise of fighting the pandemic and protecting health. 

Therefore, during the last two months, 7amleh organized a series of eight online webinars in Arabic and English, hosting a number of local and international speakers, in order to continue spreading awareness on, promoting and protecting digital rights. The webinars created a dialogue on digital rights issues throughout the region, and in specific on how the coronavirus is affecting digital rights. Topics ranged from the impact of the coronavirus quarantine and state of emergency on digital rights, and women’s digital safety in specific, Youtube’s bias against Palestinians, to digital security when working from home. These webinars reached more than 100.000 people through social media, with more than 500 participants in the live zoom-webinars and more than 10.000 viewers on the Facebook live-feed. 

The following webinars were held:

The Corona Pandemic and its Impact on Palestinian Digital Rights - 8 April 2020

This webinar discussed the threat of governments exploiting the corona pandemic to deepen the violation of digital rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of assembly and organization in the digital space. Furthermore, it analyzed how the public health interest in the fight against the coronavirus needs to be balanced with adherence to the human rights frameworks and respect for digital rights. 

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here. 

Working from Home: Risks, and Digital Tools to Mitigate Risks - 15 April 2020

This webinar focused on the changing work environment due to the coronavirus with more and more people working from home, answering questions such as: what are the best tools for working remotely? How do you protect your privacy when working from home? And: How does employees' digital behavior affect their personal as well as the organization’s digital safety?

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here.

Digital Philanthropy in the Times of Corona - 22 April 2020

This webinar discussed experiences of volunteering and donating online, in particular during crises, such as the corona pandemic in the geographically split area of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and Israel. 

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here.

YouTube: Palestinians and Digital Discrimination - 29 April 2020

This webinar focused on the digital discrimination of YouTube against Palestinians and how the social media company targets Palestinian content on their platform. The webinar is based on 7amleh’s research report “Are YouTube’s Policies Biased Towards Palestinians?“, which can be accessed here. 

The Corona Pandemic and Digital Rights Challenges in the MENA Region - 6 May 2020

This webinar discussed the influence of the coronavirus crisis on digital rights and internet freedoms in the MENA region. It highlighted how fundamental freedoms and rights such as freedom of expression and opinion and the right to privacy were similarly targeted in Tunisia, Egypt, and Palestine by various means such as criminalizing fake-news, blocking websites, and the implementation of further surveillance and espionage technologies under the guise of fighting the coronavirus.

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here.

Shrinking Space, Digital Occupation and Silenced Networks - 13 May 2020

This webinar focused on how Israeli practices seek to reduce the freedom of expression and opinion on Palestine online, thus shrinking the space for Palestinian expression online. Furthermore, tactics and ways to better protect Palestinian digital rights in the light of these violations were evaluated.

To watch the webinar recording click here. 

Surveillance Technology: From a Tool Serving the Israeli Occupation to Profitable Trade - 28 May 2020

This webinar discussed the increasing use of surveillance technology around the world, in particular in the light of the corona virus. It highlighted how the Israeli occupation is employing such technology against Palestinians in general, and Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank in particular, with Israeli technology tested on Palestinians before being exported for international business.

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here. 

Impact of the Corona Virus on Women’s Digital Safety - 3 June 2020

This webinar focused on how gender-based violence online (GBVO) increased during the corona virus pandemic and the ensuing state of emergency in Palestine, and its impact on digital security of women and their access to the internet. Furthermore, online harassment and ways to deal with it despite the emergency situation were evaluated.

To watch the webinar recording (in Arabic) click here. 

We want to thank all our speakers for making these webinars a success.