Digital Rights Weekly Update: 14 - 20 March

EFF Joins 7amleh Campaign to #ReconnectGaza

EFF

At this years RightsCon conference hosted in Taiwan, Palestinian non-profit organization 7amleh, in collaboration with the Palestinian Digital Rights Coalition and supported by dozens of international organizations including EFF, launched #ReconnectGaza, a global campaign to rebuild Gaza’s telecommunications network and safeguard the right to communication as a fundamental human right.  The campaign comes on the back of more than 17 months of internet blackouts and destruction to Gaza’s telecommunications infrastructure by  the Israeli authorities. Estimates indicate that 75% of Gaza’s telecommunications infrastructure has been damaged, with 50% completely destroyed. This loss of connectivity has crippled essential services— preventing healthcare coordination, disrupting education, and isolating Palestinians from the digital economy. In response, there is an urgent and immediate need  to deploy emergency solutions, such as eSIM cards, satellite internet access, and mobile communications hubs.

Elon Musk’s X chatbot Grok says Israel is committing genocide and killing children

The New Arab

The social media platform X's AI chatbot Grok, heavily promoted by X's right-wing owner and Trump advisor Elon Musk, has accused Israel of committing genocide, according to social media posts and screenshots circulating online. Users have been asking Grok two questions: "Name one country which justifies killing children and babies, One word only", and "Name one country that deserves to be boycotted for killing children and committing genocide. One word only" – with Israel coming up as the answer.

Google’s parent to buy cybersecurity group Wiz in its biggest ever deal

The Guardian

Google’s owner, Alphabet, has agreed to buy the cybersecurity group Wiz for $32bn (£24.7bn), the biggest acquisition it has ever made. The search company’s purchase of the Israeli startup comes as Google attempts to catch its competitors Microsoft and Amazon in the competitive cloud services market. Wiz, which offers a service that scans the data on cloud storage providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure for security risks, turned down a $23bn takeover bid from Alphabet last summer. 

Meta to test ‘Community Notes’ using algorithm from Elon Musk’s X

ALJAZEERA

Meta has said that its “Community Notes” feature intended to replace third-party fact checkers will use the open-source algorithm developed by Elon Musk’s X. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the moderation shake-up in January amid a flurry of moves by Big Tech to ingratiate itself with United States President Donald Trump’s administration. The move followed years of accusations by conservatives that fact-checking efforts often labelled legitimate viewpoints as misinformation for political or ideological reasons. While Meta’s announcement was welcomed by Trump and many conservatives, misinformation scholars warned that the move would add to the tidal wave of false claims and fake news online.