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1.

Briefing on The Palestinian Digital Rights Situation Since October 7th, 2023 (English)

7amleh

7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, has published a comprehensive briefing on “The Palestinian Digital Rights Situation Since October 7th, 2023” The briefing provides insight into alarming violations documented by 7amleh, emphasizing the urgent need for action from tech companies and international duty-bearers. In this paper, 7amleh documented disturbing trends observed on online platforms, including an unprecedented rise in online hate speech and incitement, the spread of mis- and disinformation, as well as the censorship of Palestinian voices. The briefing also delves into violations of digital rights due to the communications blackout in Gaza, as well as violations resulting from Israeli government actions that include arbitrary arrests, interrogations, and harassment based on social media activity. The paper includes violations by Israeli officials and the obligations of international duty-bearers in light of the documented violations of Palestinian digital rights.

2.

Internet access in Gaza is collapsing as ISPs fall offline (English)

Amnesty

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas reaches its third week, internet connectivity in Gaza is getting worse. On Thursday morning, internet monitoring firm NetBlocks wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the Palestinian internet service provider NetStream “has collapsed days after the operator notified subscribers that service would end due to a severe shortage of fuel supplies.” Hours later, NetBlocks wrote that its network data showed “a collapse in connectivity in the Gaza strip,” including Paltel, which bills itself as “the leading telecommunication company” in Gaza.

3.

Global: Social media companies must step up crisis response on Israel-Palestine as online hate and censorship proliferate (English)

7amleh

Social media companies must urgently address the fanning of online hate and racism against Palestinian and Jewish communities, Amnesty International said today, as the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories escalates further. The organization has found an alarming rise in advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to violence, hostility, and discrimination on social media platforms, which is prohibited under international human rights law, and other harmful content against Palestinian and Jewish people. Amnesty International also documented concerning reports that content posted by Palestinians and advocates of Palestinian rights are being subject to potentially discriminatory content moderation by different social media platforms.

4.

INSTAGRAM HID A COMMENT. IT WAS JUST THREE PALESTINIAN FLAG EMOJIS (English)

The Intercept

AS ISRAEL IMPOSED an internet blackout in Gaza on Friday, social media users posting about the grim conditions have contended with erratic and often unexplained censorship of content related to Palestine on Instagram and Facebook. Since Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack, Facebook and Instagram users have reported widespread deletions of their content, translations inserting the word “terrorist” into Palestinian Instagram profiles, and suppressed hashtags. Instagram comments containing the Palestinian flag emoji have also been hidden, according to 7amleh, a Palestinian digital rights group that formally collaborates with Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, on regional speech issues.

5

An invisible digital apartheid (English)

The News

he past three weeks have been extremely heavy, with our social media feeds flooded with content from the genocide unfolding in Gaza. As the mainstream media continues to promote imperialistic narratives justifying occupation and the dehumanisation of the Palestinian people, you might have heard some users complain about being ‘shadow banned’, a shorthand for having your content demoted, limiting its visibility.