7amleh - the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement launched 7or (Hurr), the first Palestinian digital rights violations monitor and the first open online platform to monitor, document and follow-up on digital rights violations against Palestinian content.

Ramallah, Haifa - 1 November 2021, 7amleh - the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement launched 7or (Hurr), the first Palestinian digital rights violations monitor and the first open online platform to monitor, document and follow-up on digital rights violations against Palestinian content.

7amleh has long worked in monitoring, documenting and appealing violations of Palestinian digital rights, and considers this platform an opportunity to provide more in-depth and accessible information to the public, journalists, governmental and non-governmental organizations and various local and international bodies that work to advocate for Palestinian digital rights.

Since its establishment, 7amleh has worked to escalate violations reported to the center with major companies, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, to end digital discrimination against Palestinians and Palestinian content. As a trusted partner of many social media companies, 7amleh applies pressure to these companies to amend their policies and increase their transparency about content moderation on their platforms.

The ongoing systematic violations against Palestinians and targeting of Palestinian content online has necessitated that 7amleh  works in a systematic and organized manner to monitor, document, follow-up and escalate these violations to social media companies. To that end, 7or aims to raise awareness of  digital rights and document violations faced by users, to reach a fair, safe and free digital space and build resources of knowledge to strengthen advocacy campaigns with documented facts and accurate figures.

The platform, which is the first of its kind in Palestine and the region, comprises two main tools: a reporting tool and a tool to extract data about violations. The reporting tool allows users to report digital rights violations they face, in order for 7amleh to monitor, document and follow up on such violations by communicating with technology companies. Users can report various types of violations, including content removal, fake news, hate speech, gender-based online violence, hacking, incitement, smear campaigns and more. The second tool enables users from interested parties, specialists, researchers and activists to extract data about digital rights violations by providing a free database composed of open graphs, in a way that promotes a culture of digital rights and raises awareness about the scale and nature of digital rights violations.

Nadim Nashif, Director of 7amleh, said, “I consider the launch of 7or to be the fruit of 7amleh’s extensive and cumulative work to document digital violations over the years. The platform will provide reliable data for workers in the field of digital rights, researchers and journalists, which would support advocacy and research efforts related to digital rights.  In continuation of 7amleh’s previous work to monitor, document and follow up violations of digital rights by companies and authorities, 7or comes to solidify and systematize these processes of monitoring, documentation and follow-up on such violations.”

7amleh hopes that 7or will be a turning point in the field of monitoring, documenting and following up on Palestinian digital rights violations. In this context, 7amleh invites all civil society organizations, media, human rights and academic institutions, activists and all relevant authorities invested in digital rights to visit and use the platform to contribute to improving the Palestinian digital space towards a more safe, just and free space.

Vist the Platform: https://7or.7amleh.org/en/