Stories about Middle East & North Africa
Turkish lawmakers ratify new disinformation bill
Aimed to combat fake news and disinformation, the 40-article legislation passed by Turkey's parliament, is a threat to freedom of speech say critics of the bill.
The world must hear the voice of Iranian women
The Iranian government is attempting to silence the online and offline voices of women and all dissidents through a brutal and ongoing crackdown.
Unfreedom Monitor report: Morocco
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Morocco is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Egypt
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Egypt is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Repeated cyberattacks across the Western Balkans highlight need for an organized approach to security
Microsoft experts trace the Albanian attack, which took out public services websites to Iran, leading the Albanian government to take diplomatic action.
Whistleblowing is a service to society: Interview with Disruption Network Lab director Tatiana Bazzichelli
Whistleblowers are painted as heroes or villains, but what motivates them? Global Voices spoke to Tatiana Bazzichelli, a writer who recently edited "Whistleblowing for Change," an anthology on the subject.
Iranian women’s rights activists face new online threats
Flooding social media accounts with fake followers and then mass reporting the accounts is a regular tactic used by state forces to silence rights defenders in Iran.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Turkey
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Turkey is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Under BTK's eye: investigation reveals Turkey's information and communication authority has been collecting private user data for over a year
The private user data collected by the Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) has been described by main opposition party as the biggest tapping scandal in the history of the Republic.
Access the Unfreedom Monitor database
The Unfreedom Monitor is an Advox initiative to deepen our understanding of the relationship between technology and authoritarian power. In the first phase of this project, researchers working in 11 countries and four key themes conducted analysis of incidents, narratives, and media items, to explain acts of digital authoritarianism and...
Turkey blocks access to two news websites
On June 30, Turkey’s Radio and Television High Council blocked access to the Turkish language websites of Deutsche Welle and Voice of America after two news outlets refused to obtain a broadcaster license.
Trace Turkey's path to normalizing the practice of blocking news websites
The sweeping legislative amendments to national laws as well as exhaustive institutional oversight by government institutions have created an environment of unlimited digital censorship in Turkey.
In Turkey a journalist is arrested for covering an alleged hacking of a government database
The arrest comes after Haskoloğlu reported on an alleged hacking of a government database.
In Turkey, media watchdog uses licensing to attempt to censor foreign media
A 2020 social media law introduced a set of requirements that will have a lasting impact on digital rights and freedom of expression in Turkey.
Pandemic tech and digital rights in Morocco
While data-driven technologies can add great value, they carry very significant risks for human dignity, autonomy and privacy and the exercise of human rights in general if not managed appropriately.
Jordan's personal data protection draft bill: is it enough?
Experts say the draft bill, which still awaits parliamentary discussions, has points of strength like securing citizens’ consent before using their data, but the measures for its application raise concern.
In Turkey, a singer defies threats with a new song
The president, speaking after Friday noon prayer, said "no one can defame his holiness Adam. It is our duty, to rip out the tongues of those who do when necessary."
Erdoğan and the AKP's war with art and culture
In the years since the ascent to power, President Erdoğan's, ruling, Justice and Development Party (AKP) has slowly taken under its control much of the country's art and culture scene.
Tunisia: New prosecutions resurrect shadow of dictatorship
The use of military law by Kais Said's government to prosecute journalists and restrict freedom of expression foreshadows a return to the nightmare governments of before the Arab Spring.
SMEX: Israel’s presence at Expo Dubai 2020 Is a threat to digital rights
In November, US Department of Commerce blacklisted two Israeli surveillance companies, NSO Group and Candiru, which have reportedly supplied spyware to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Bahrain.
