Featured stories about Middle East & North Africa
Stories about Middle East & North Africa
22 October 2019
Ahead of Tunisia elections, social media was flooded with mis- and disinformation
In the months leading up to the elections, mis- and disinformation spread widely across social media platforms, Facebook in particular.
11 October 2019
Netizen Report: Iraq and Ecuador face network shutdowns amid public protests
Networks are down in Turkey, Iraq and Ecuador; US tech companies are cutting off Venezuelans; and gatekeepers continue holding back content related to Hong Kong protests.
26 September 2019
Netizen Report: Anti-corruption protests across Egypt trigger internet blockages, arrests
Censorship spikes as protests mount in Egypt, Twitter censors hundreds of pro-state accounts and a Pakistani court delivers a win for free speech online.
6 September 2019
How Turkey's broadcast regulator is taking over the supervision of online content
Under a new regulation, local streaming services like Netflix are required to adjust their content to the regulator's rules and guidelines.
3 September 2019
The plight of Kuwait's stateless community: Silenced and deprived of human rights
The security services spare no effort to target and silence the human rights movement of Kuwait's stateless community.
12 August 2019
Withheld in Turkey: How the government exploits removal requests to silence critical and independent voices
For years, Turkey has been exploiting tools offered by social media platforms to restrict illegal content in a particular jurisdiction, to silence critical voices.
9 August 2019
UAE frees activist Osama al-Najjar after 5 years in detention
Despite serving his three-year sentence in March 2017, al-Najjar remained in arbitrary detention.
6 August 2019
Sentencing of Turkish social media influencer sparks debate on free speech
A Turkish Twitter celebrity is being sued for allegedly advocating drug consumption, reigniting the debate about online freedom of expression
5 July 2019
Iran’s Draft Data Protection Act: Too little but not too late
While lawmakers wait to ratify the Draft Act, they must pay heed to international digital rights standards in the new Draft Law for the Personal Data Protection and Safeguarding
18 May 2019
Netizen Report: Amid WhatsApp attacks, advocates launch legal challenge against Israeli malware maker
Spyware makers exploit a security flaw in WhatsApp, Singapore bans false information and Somalia plans to shut down social media during school exams.
