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23 - 29 June: Digital Rights Weekly Update

2023-06-30

Check out our digital rights weekly update

1.

Why Bitcoin Can’t Replace PayPal In Palestine (English)

Forbes

Without PayPal, Palestinian’s software development industry and e-commerce providers are both deprived of the opportunity to do business using “the most popular payment method in the world”, Bahour told me in an interview. Eric Sype of 7amleh, a Palestinian digital rights group, told me in an interview that he shares the same sentiment. PayPal is not only one of the largest payment providers in the world but also one of the most trusted, while many remain skeptical of using cryptocurrencies for payments.

 

 


 

2.

Thanks to Israel your government is spying on you via your phone (English)

Dorset Eye

Pegasus is a highly sophisticated spyware developed by the Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group. It is designed to infect and infiltrate mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, running on iOS and Android operating systems. Pegasus is capable of exploiting vulnerabilities in these devices, often through deceptive tactics such as spear-phishing attacks or malicious links. Once the spyware infects a device, it gains complete access to its data, including messages, emails, call logs, photos, and other sensitive information. It can also activate the device’s camera and microphone for surveillance purposes, effectively turning the device into a powerful spying tool.

 

 


 

3.

Israeli AI is turning Palestine into a dystopian reality (English)

The New Arab

What sets Israel apart from the crowd is its employment of AI to enhance an already tight matrix of control over Palestinians. Since 1948, Palestinians have been subjected to multiple layers of surveillance by the Israeli state. The system has been likened to the Panopticon, a mechanism of psychological, physical, and social control suggested by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham 200 years ago. Others see an uncanny similarity between Israel's grip on Palestinians and the Orwellian notion of draconian control depicted in the novel 1984.

 


 

4.

Israeli Occupation: How Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and Dell Enable Surveillance and Control in Palestine (English)

Mint Press News

In September, Israel installed an AI-powered gun at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Now, that same technology has been deployed at the entrance of the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Across occupied East Jerusalem, you can find surveillance cameras strategically placed on street corners. And throughout the West Bank, Palestinians’ encounters with Israeli soldiers often include not only violence but face-scanning apps designed to capture their personal data.

 

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