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1.

Youtube's Impact on Palestinian Digital Rights  during the War on Gaza (English)

7amleh

The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media issued a position paper titled "Youtube's Impact on Palestinian Digital Rights during the War on Gaza''. The paper addressed YouTube's policies and discriminatory practices, its compliance with international law, adherence to human rights due diligence, and its impact on Palestinian digital rights following the 7th of October.

2.

Civil Society Statement in Response to Meta’s Letter (English)

7amleh

7amleh and a coalition of Palestinian and global digital groups, representatives of the #StopSilencingPalestine campaign, received a formal response from Meta to inquiries raised in a March 14, 2024 letter to Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs. The letter was sent following a meeting held with the company’s executive and senior staff on February 22, 2024. It reiterated our concerns about the systemic censorship of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian advocates on Meta’s platforms, the proliferation of speech inciting violence against Palestinians, and the urgent need for policy shifts to better protect digital rights during times of crisis.

3.

7amleh and SMEX are collaborating to host digital rights events (English)

7amleh

Our region is at a volatile and bleak moment. Over the past year, Sudan has been under a harrowing and largely forgotten war, with over eight million people forced to flee for safety and nearly 20 million facing severe food insecurity. In Yemen, more than half the population is in dire need of aid after a decade of fighting. The Israeli occupation continues its unrelenting genocidal agenda in Gaza while bombing towns and villages in Lebanon’s south on a daily basis. Violence and political instability inflict immeasurable suffering upon millions and also bring about significant challenges to digital rights in our region. In response to these pressing issues, we invite you to participate in our upcoming events, Bread&Net Online, hosted by SMEX, and the Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF), hosted by 7amleh. These meeting junctures offer an opportunity to discuss, address, and respond to unprecedented risks affecting our digital rights.

4. 

Is WhatsApp putting Palestinians at risk of being killed in Gaza? (English)

Anadolu Agency

For decades, humans have lived with the prospect of a future where wars would be fought with so-called killer robots driven by technology that always seemed otherworldly. That is now a terrifying reality, given Israel’s use of artificial intelligence in its ongoing deadly assault on the Gaza Strip, documented in reports and investigations by various outlets, none more important than Israeli publications +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language Local Call. They revealed the use of AI programs such as The Gospel, Lavender and Where’s Daddy?, all of which were used to identify tens of thousands of Gazans as targets, track and strike people specifically in their homes, and essentially run a “mass assassination factory” with minimal human oversight.