Press Release: 7amleh’s Brussels Conference Calls on the European Union to Uphold Its Responsibility in Protecting Palestinian Digital Rights

December 3, 2025, 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media convened its second annual European conference in Brussels yesterday, at a time when Palestinian digital rights are under unprecedented pressure, both online and across the European political landscape. Under the theme: Protect or Perpetuate? The European Union’s Choice on Palestinian Digital Freedoms, the conference brought together leading voices from academia, civil society, journalism, EU institutions, and the tech sector to examine how Europe’s regulatory choices and political climate are shaping Palestinian freedom of expression, access to information, and participation in the digital public sphere. The day also explored the responsibilities - and shortcomings of governments and tech companies in safeguarding the digital rights of Palestinians and other global majority communities.

In his opening remarks, 7amleh’s Founder and Executive Director, Nadim Nashif, set the stage by providing an analysis of the declining efficacy of normative Business and Human Rights frameworks to hold Big Tech accountable and uphold digital rights. Nashif invited attendees to come together and collaboratively find new solutions to ensure better protection of digital rights for all people.

The first thematic session,  Silenced and Surveilled: Europe’s Shifting Digital Landscape and the Battle for Palestinian Freedoms, presented insights from 7amleh’s ongoing research on the interplay between tech platform policies, national laws, and EU-wide regulations. The discussion then turned to the impacts of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the so-called “Brussels Effect”. Moderated by Taysir Mathlouthi from 7amleh, the panel included Elodie Vialle, Alexandra Fine, Henriette Willberg, Carolina Xavier, and Noémie Levain. 

The first inspirational remarks of the day were delivered by Tamam Abusalama, a Brussels-based Gazan and refugee advocate, who spoke about her experience as a Palestinian living in Europe during the Gaza genocide. Tamam underscored what she described as Europe’s hypocritical response to the genocide, while simultaneously finding her voice in calling out complicity and silence in the face of the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

Later, 7amleh’s Jalal Abukhater moderated an enriching discussion on the destruction of Gazan’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, and the urgent need to rebuild and reconnect Gaza, with contributions from Ali Abdel-Wahab and Haneen Abu Nahla. The session explored the educational, economic, emotional, and physical impacts of ICT destruction. With many Gazans losing their entire income overnight due to an inability to maintain connections to the global digital economy, to students being unable to access virtual classes after their universities were destroyed, to a sense of abandonment by the global community. The session concluded with a call for a national digital policy to set the terms for ICT reconstruction, and push back against disaster capitalism profiteering.

The afternoon started with inspirational remarks from Mark Botenga, a Member of European Parliament, who reflected on shifting political and economic dynamics in Europe. Botenga  highlighted Europe’s decreasing global diplomatic and economic influence,  and the push to deregulation and a militarisation agenda, and there is a strong push for deregulation, with a militarization agenda, the solidarity movement for Palestine has been a bright spot of hope in pushing for progressive, human-rights centric, demands.

The final keynote of the day was delivered by Adam, a Microsoft worker, who presented detailed evidence of Microsoft’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and shared how worker’s within the company have been organising to advocate for Palestinian human rights. Adam’s presentation encouraged participants to think about how civil society and labor can work together around shared values.

The conference concluded with interactive breakout sessions on four key topics: Tech Accountability, Gender-based Violence in times of War, Global Majority Voices in EU Policy, and Algorithmic Governance and the Palestinian Experience. Participants ended the day with a clear call to push for stronger accountability mechanisms and advocacy in Europe with regards to Palestinian digital rights, and the digital rights of all global majority communities.   

The discussions throughout the day underscored that Palestinian digital rights are not a marginal or isolated concern but a barometer of Europe’s broader commitment to human rights, democratic values, and accountable digital governance. As the EU moves deeper into the era of the Digital Services Act and renewed debates on platform regulation, surveillance, and global tech accountability, 7amleh calls on European institutions and civil society partners to ensure that Palestinian voices and experiences remain central to these discussions. Protecting digital freedoms for Palestinians is essential to protecting digital freedoms for all, and the choices Europe makes now will shape the rights and safety of future generations across its own borders and beyond.