Check out the full report

1.

First Quarterly Report January - March, 2024 (English)

7amleh 

Following the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian digital rights violations surged during the first quarter of 2024. While Israeli assaults on Palestinians and infrastructure continue, various actors continue their attacks on digital freedom and privacy, most notably the Israeli authorities and social media companies. The Israeli authorities continued to target the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including the Internet and communications infrastructure. These attacks have significantly impaired Palestinians' ability to access the internet, utilize communication services, and both access and share information. Furthermore, it restricts their capacity to express opinions in the digital realm and document atrocities from the field.

2.

NYT guidelines for Gaza bar journos from saying ‘genocide’: Report (English)

The Cradle 

Social media has also been riddled with the censorship of Palestinian voices. Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report released last year, stated that “Meta’s policies and practices have been silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook in a wave of heightened censorship of social media.” HRW’s report adds that “Between October and November 2023 … over 1,050 takedowns and other suppression of content on Instagram and Facebook that had been posted by Palestinians and their supporters, including about human rights abuses.”

3.

Jarvis and Lezaic: A Rising Push for Censorship (English)

The Daily Utah Chronicle

In a slew of censorship pushed by the United States government and mostly U.S.-based media companies, Meta’s new political content filter poses the most recent cause for outrage. The update comes at a time when social unrest and political upheaval threaten those in power for their continuous transgressions against oppressed peoples of the world. Those outraged at Meta’s political content filter must understand the broader implications of U.S. censorship here and abroad.

4.

Israel: Document reveals criminalisation of word ‘martyr’ on social media (English) 

Middle East Monitor

A document prepared by Israel’s Attorney General’s office reportedly reveals plans to criminalise social media posts containing the Arabic word for martyr "shaheed", as well as Quran verses used in particular contexts, Israeli news site Ynet reported on Tuesday. The disclosure of the document came during secret deliberations of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. According to Ynet, Simcha Rothman, the committee’s chairman, accused public prosecutors of being “lenient” in pursuing those who shared “inciting” social media posts after the war on Gaza started.