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Access Now
@accessnow.org
820 followers 47 following 170 posts
We defend and extend the digital rights of people and communities at risk 🌎.
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accessnow.org
"Iran’s communications blackout has entered its eighth day, making it the longest uninterrupted nationwide shutdown we’ve ever recorded," said Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy + Advocacy Director at Access Now.

Read more ⬇️
www.challenges.fr/monde/coupur...
Coupures d’Internet en Iran : les satellites Starlink de Musk peuvent-ils contrer la répression du régime des mollahs ?
L’accès à Internet a été coupé depuis une semaine en Iran, empêchant l’information de sortir. Les autorités seraient même parvenues à brouiller les communications par satellite pour éviter que la popu...
www.challenges.fr
January 16, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Access Now
soeptech.bsky.social
This week we delve into the worst internet shutdown ever recorded in Iran.
Then: why up to half of fresh fruit & veg is wasted.
One 5-day error.
300 tonnes of apples lost.
When information breaks down, the costs are human and global.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqoi...
The Communications Blackout in Iran: Network Data Show Near-Total Comms Shutdown
YouTube video by Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast
www.youtube.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:57 AM
accessnow.org
Natalia Krapiva, our Senior Tech-Legal Counsel, told TechCrunch that NSO is “clearly campaigning to be removed from the U.S. Entity List” and must prove it has “dramatically changed as a company” since being listed.

Read more ⬇️

techcrunch.com/2026/01/08/c...
Critics pan spyware maker NSO's transparency claims amid its push to enter US market | TechCrunch
The infamous spyware maker released a new transparency report claiming to be a responsible spyware maker, without providing insight into how the company dealt with problematic customers in the past.
techcrunch.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:00 AM
accessnow.org
VPN users in Jammu & Kashmir face a 2-month ban.

Raman Jit Singh Chima, our Senior International Counsel & Asia Pacific Policy Director, warns: "Law enforcement is trying to push everyday people from not using VPNs, and that's alarming."

Read ⬇️

www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-priv...
VPN users under siege in Jammu and Kashmir as authorities issue a 2-month ban – here's what we know
Digital rights experts say the order is illegal
www.techradar.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Access Now
ubisurv.net
Open letter to the International Telecommunications Union #ITU and the United Nations #UN on the internet shutdown and repression of protest in #Iran:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Iran: When the internet is shut down, gunfire begins
To the International Telecommunication Union and the international Internet community, When the internet is shut down, gunfire begins. People of Iran are once again on the streets, risking their li...
docs.google.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:37 AM
accessnow.org
After taking to the streets, people in Iran have now been disconnected from the rest of the world for more than five days. That’s +120 hours in the dark!

Alongside +19 orgs, we demand that authorities immediately restore internet access and uphold rights.

www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Access Now - #KeepItOn: Iran plunged into digital darkness, concealing human rights abuses
join the international community, including the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, in calling on Iran to immediately restore internet and mobile communications and in demanding accou...
www.accessnow.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:34 PM
accessnow.org
According to our Executive Director, Alejandro Mayoral, the past year was defined by “surveillance, censorship, and shrinking civic space.”

Tech Radar spoke with Access Now staff about the most critical digital rights developments from the last 12 months. Read:

www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-priv...
2025 Digital rights review: Spyware, AI war & EU regulations
The most significant digital rights developments from the past 12 months
www.techradar.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:00 AM
accessnow.org
Internet shutdowns undermine democracy!

As Ugandans head to the polls on this week, the #KeepItOn coalition urges President Museveni to guarantee full, uninterrupted internet access before, during, and after the elections. #KeepItOn

Read more: www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Access Now - #KeepItOn: Government of Uganda must ensure unrestricted internet access throughout the upcoming elections
Access Now appeals to you, President Yoweri Museveni, to ensure that people in Uganda have unfettered access to the internet, digital platforms, and all other communication channels throughout the upc...
www.accessnow.org
January 12, 2026 at 10:27 AM
accessnow.org
Iran has been cut off from the internet as people take to the streets.

At least 34 protesters have been killed and 2,200 arrested. Internet shutdowns violate rights, hide abuses + silence dissent.

Authorities must reconnect Iran’s people NOW. #KeepItOn

www.bbc.com/news/live/cl...
Iran protests latest: Internet blackout continues after huge anti-government protests
Huge crowds of protesters have been marching through Iran's capital and other cities, with people heard calling for the overthrow of the supreme leader.
www.bbc.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:23 AM
accessnow.org
As protests continue and a government shutdown disrupts Iran, we are closely monitoring the situation, and the multiple reports of shutdowns, and urgently call on Iranian authorities to uphold human rights, and guarantee unrestricted access to the internet. #KeepItOn

filter.watch/english/2026...
Connected but Unsafe: The Model of Regional Internet Repression During the December 2025 – January 2026 Protests - Filterwatch
The pattern of internet disruption observed during the recent protests marks a strategic departure from the "nationwide shutdowns" of the past. Instead, it resembles the approach used during the…
filter.watch
January 6, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Access Now
techcrunch.com
For years, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline has been aiding journalists and dissidents who have been targeted with government spyware. This is how they operate.
Meet the team that hunts government spyware
For years, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline has been aiding journalists and dissidents who have been targeted with government spyware. This is how they operate.
techcrunch.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
accessnow.org
New year, same fight.
Digital authoritarianism keeps rising. So are we.

Your support fuels the fight for digital rights ▶️ accessnow.org/donate
Our 2026 resolutions include... -Defend privacy -Protect freedom of expression -Keep the internet open + secure -Fight the good fight
January 5, 2026 at 7:00 AM
accessnow.org
Surveillance, censorship, and internet shutdowns — 2025 was a(nother) tough year for human rights. Let’s fight to make 2026 a better one.

Your support helps us keep defending digital rights, protecting activists, and pushing back against authoritarianism. accessnow.org/donate
Text says: From Palestine to Myanmar, digital dictators are silencing voices, spreading disinformation, and crushing dissent. Your support helps us keep defending digital rights for all. Fund the good fight — donate today
December 29, 2025 at 8:00 AM
accessnow.org
This holiday season, stand with those defending freedom online.

Your support helps us keep defending digital rights across the globe.

Fund the good fight — donate today: www.accessnow.org/donate
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM
accessnow.org
Read about this issue and more on our website!

Access Now, Strengthening data protection in Africa, key issues for implementation ⬇️

www.accessnow.org/improving-da...
December 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
accessnow.org
Companies deploy AI tools very differently across markets. How fast –and how safely– they roll out new tools often depend on how much the existing regulations in respective jurisdictions lets them get away with.
Different standards,different markets Companies deploy AI tools very differently across markets. How fast –and how safely– they roll out new tools often depend on how much the existing regulations in respective jurisdictions lets them get away with. Take Meta AI on Whatsapp: its launch was delayed in the EU due to regulatory intervention by the Irish Data Protection Commission, and even then the feature came with restrictions on data collection and processing. The technology, meanwhile, was deployed in other regions with little to no notice and a complicated opt out process. Can data protection frameworks fix human rights gaps in AI? Partially. While good data protection laws are necessary, the risks presented by innovation and adoption in AI far outweigh the risks envisioned by most data protection frameworks. For instance, some data protection legislations –like EU GDPR’s article 22 and South Africa POPIA’s section 71– include rules for AI, especially Automated Decision Making systems (ADMs). But some of these provisions set a low standard of duty for data collection and processing, limiting the real protection they might offer. To truly safeguard people from the worst risks of AI development, we need strong, actionable data protection rights: such as meaningful consent, and a real enforcement of existing principles, including purpose limitation. It’s not a silver bullet, but it can help prevent predatory data scraping, unlawful third party access to personal data, and discriminatory data backed automated processing– and give people autonomy over the decisions and predictions made about them.
December 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
accessnow.org
AI is expanding fast — and so are the risks to human rights.

To truly safeguard people from the worst risks of AI development, we need strong, actionable data protection rights.

Here’s what you need to know ⬇️
Title: The relationship between AI and data protection Subheading: AI is expanding fast — and so are the risks to human rights. Here’s what you need to know ▶️ Everybody wants to talk about machine learning 👀 Machine learning is an approach where systems are trained on huge amounts of data to recognise patterns without explicit instructions. Today’s AI boom comes from advances in large language models (LLMs) – the tech behind ChatGPT, Gemini, Deepseek or Claude – trained on massive datasets that allow them not only to recognise patterns, but also generate content. Because machine learning relies on collecting enormous amounts of data, it is vital that robust data protection provisions are established to protect people’s rights. How is AI putting people’s rights at risk? Governments worldwide are increasingly deploying AI-backed surveillance – like predictive policing and facial recognition technologies– in the name of national security. Many are also adopting automated decision making systems for the provision of social welfare. These put people at various levels of risk. Tech companies' AI use raises similar data protection concerns, especially for vulnerable communities The dating app Bumble, for instance, faces a complaint in Austria due to their sharing of users’ chat history with OpenAI, in order to facilitate their new ‘AI icebreakers’ feature. EFF has raised the alarm on other dating apps like Grindr with their planned AI wingman launch.
December 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Access Now
fightforthefuture.org
In October, Fight joined @accessnow.org @amnesty.org @hrw.org @7amleh.bsky.social and @eff.org in another letter to Microsoft demanding more transparency around the ongoing investigation Microsoft is overseeing into its contracts with the Israeli military: www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Access Now - Microsoft must come clean on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza
We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are writing with great concern regarding media reporting alleging that Microsoft has contributed to grave violations of international law perpetrated by...
www.accessnow.org
December 16, 2025 at 7:04 PM
accessnow.org
"If the world ignores Myanmar now, it will see the same digital oppression replicated elsewhere," says Wai Phyo Myint, Asia Pacific Policy Analyst at Access Now.

Read more: www.context.news/digital-righ...
Myanmar’s new era of digital oppression | Context by TRF
If the world ignores Myanmar now, it will see the same digital oppression replicated elsewhere
www.context.news
December 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
accessnow.org
Learn more about our Grants program and our grantees on our website: www.accessnow.org/grants-commu...
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
accessnow.org
@VOICE_Updates, Bangladesh

VOICE focuses on building the capacity of journalists and human rights defenders, particularly women human rights defenders and youth activists, by providing training on digital safety, human rights-based reporting, and privacy and data protection. ⬇️
VOICE 📍 Bangladesh VOICE focuses on building the capacity of journalists and human rights defenders, particularly women human rights defenders and youth activists, by providing training on digital safety, human rights-based reporting, and privacy and data protection. These activities have established VOICE as a leader on media freedom, digital rights, and online safety, strengthening the digital ecosystem. Access Now has been supporting their vital work for two years. How do you help? “For many of the journalists, activists, and human rights defenders we work with, particularly women, women entrepreneurs, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people living in rural or semi-urban areas, digital rights violations are deeply personal threats to their livelihoods and safety”.
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
accessnow.org
@kryssnetwork, Malaysia

KRYSS Network works with young people on issues of freedom of opinion and expression, focused on girls, women, and gender non-conforming individuals. ⬇️ 🧵
KRYSS Network 📍 Malaysia KRYSS Network works with young people on issues of freedom of opinion and expression, focused on girls, women, and gender non-conforming individuals. Access Now has been supporting their vital work for five years. How do you help? “KRYSS began as a voluntary collective that is passionate about creating safer spaces for young people who are too often denied opportunities to participate in social activism or dismissed for being considered ‘too young.’ (...) Our focus is on promoting safer online spaces for these marginalized communities, so they feel able to better express their lived realities and experiences, share their opinions, and disclose any human rights violations they have suffered, without experiencing harassment and online violence.”
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
accessnow.org
@NubianRights, Kenya

Via community-led advocacy and strategic litigation efforts, they work to dismantle systemic barriers facing Kenya’s most marginalized communities, especially members of the Nubian ethnic minority. ⬇️ 🧵
Nubian Rights Forum 📍Kenya Via community-led advocacy and strategic litigation efforts, Nubian Rights Forum works to dismantle systemic barriers facing Kenya’s most marginalized communities, especially members of the Nubian ethnic minority, with a focus on citizenship, statelessness, and land rights. Access Now has been supporting their vital work for five years. How do you help? “Digital rights aren't just about access to technology; they're fundamental rights to exist within a system that recognizes your humanity. We walk alongside some of Kenya's most historically marginalized communities, especially members of the Nubian community, who remain largely invisible in the eyes of the state. (...) Digital identity and statelessness are incredibly complex, intersectional issues that aren't always headline-grabbing, yet they profoundly affect people's ability to access almost every other right.”
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
accessnow.org
@Haki_na_Sheria, Kenya

Haki na Sheria works to end systemic discrimination against marginalized communities in Northern Kenya, with a focus on statelessness and digital ID, legal and digital invisibility, and biometric purgatory. 🧵 ⬇️
Haki na Sheria 📍Kenya Haki na Sheria works to end systemic discrimination against marginalized communities in Northern Kenya, with a focus on statelessness and digital ID, legal and digital invisibility, and biometric purgatory. Access Now has been supporting their vital work for six years. How do you help? “Northern Kenyans and Muslims across Kenya still face extra vetting, scrutiny, and suspicion when applying for national ID cards. Yet despite this, work at the intersection of digital ID, minority rights, and statelessness remains underfunded, and the communities most impacted are politically marginalized. To address this gap, we build community-based paralegal models, document real-life incidents and impacts of exclusion, and use community organizing, public advocacy, and strategic litigation to make change a reality.”
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM
accessnow.org
10 years ago, we launched the Grants Program with a simple idea: when digital rights defenders are under attack, they deserve rapid, trusted support.

The “Community Defenders” are grounded in lived experience, and driven by the needs and aspirations of their people. 🧵 ⬇️ ️
TITLE: Access Now Grants: Meet the Community Defenders SUBTITLE: Access Now 10 years “Community Defenders” are grant recipients whose work is grounded in lived experience, accountable to their communities, and driven by the needs and aspirations of their people. Rooted in broader struggles for justice, equity, and self-determination, their digital rights activism emerges from the necessity to protect and advance their communities in the digital sphere, as part of their ongoing fight for freedom and safety, and we support them in that pursuit. Get to know them ▶️
December 15, 2025 at 6:47 PM