Digital Rights Weekly Update: 31 January - 6 February

WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware

The Guardian

Nearly 100 journalists and other members of civil society using WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, were targeted by spyware owned by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli maker of hacking software, the company alleged on Friday. The journalists and other civil society members were being alerted of a possible breach of their devices, with WhatsApp telling the Guardian it had “high confidence” that the 90 users in question had been targeted and “possibly compromised”.

Google's AI Says Its Own Technology Is Being Used To Harm Palestinians

The Bad Security

While every news outlet out there has some kind of bias towards the militarization of Google's AI tech for cyberwarfare and national security, it surprisingly turns out to be that same technology - often accused of bias - that offers a sober view of the situation. That tech is a trio of AI-enhanced technology from the company known as Alphabet, Inc: The Gemini AI Chatbot, the NotebookLM platform and Google search itself.

Gaza’s Telecommunications: Occupied and Destroyed

Al-Shabaka

In the 21st century, telecommunications—particularly the internet—have become indispensable tools in the global struggle for freedom and dignity. For Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured over 17 years of Israeli blockade and many more decades of Israeli colonial occupation, the internet serves as a critical lifeline: a channel to communicate with the outside world and share their lived reality with an international audience. Aware of its potential, the Israeli regime has long sought to dominate and suppress the Palestinian digital landscape.

Google’s involvement with Pentagon and Israel in AI development

The Eastern Herald

In Palestine, where civilians face ongoing violence and displacement, the use of AI could enhance surveillance systems, making it easier for governments to monitor and control populations, potentially exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. Google’s collaboration with governments and military entities, previously constrained by its ethics policy, now seems more open to involvement in such efforts. This is especially concerning given the role that technology plays in the digital warfare and media manipulation currently taking place, where AI algorithms could be used to spread misinformation or suppress dissent, deepening the suffering of civilians.

The lethal role of AI in Gaza’s destruction

Modern Diplomacy

The very idea of a computerized and AI version of genocide by right-wing fundamentalists sitting in Tel Aviv was not committed coincidentally. Concerning this, the latest crux of war has reversed the primary principle of post-Westphalian society. The institutions are no longer respected, and human lives are no longer valued, indicating the potential collapse of a hopeful world order into the realm of peace. Moreover, the recent documents divulged by the Washington Post have left no doubt about how Israel inflicted a massive-scale bloodbath in Gaza remotely with the help of an advanced model of artificial intelligence provided by Google. This fiasco occurred when the company signed Project Nimbus of 1.2 billion dollars with the government of Israel. The bilateral move was desperately opposed by dozens of Google staff workers who were then fired from the job.