The African region has seen rising levels of homophobia over the last several months. Amidst the changing climate of restrictive, “anti-gay” laws that have swept the region, local LGBTI activists are facing new types of risks and threats, yet digital security literacy among LGBTI activists in the region remains quite low. That’s why a joint team from our Human Rights Program and from Access organized a workshop and a digital security health clinic focused on improving digital security for LGBTI activists in the African region. In a joint blog post published on the Access blog, they report from the field.
After Snowden, Whither Internet Freedom? This is the theme set for the fourth annual Cyber Dialogue conference on March 30-31, 2014, where VP of Human Rights Enrique Piracés will be speaking. To preview his discussion, Enrique has published an op-ed on human rights technology in the age of hyper-surveillance on the Cyber Dialogue blog.
I had the chance to sit down with Ugandan LGBTI activist Richard Lusimbo earlier this month at RightsCon. At the conference, he represented the LGBTI community in Uganda, where he says he feels like a criminal since the signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in February. I spoke to him about a range of issues, including LGBTI Rights and digital security.
Silicon Valley startups are proving their ability to subvert internet censorship plans of governments half a world away, but by doing so might wade into dicey diplomatic waters. In a story that examines the promises and perils of this new, unregulated power, TechCrunch journalist Gregory Ferenstein quotes our VP of Human Rights, Enrique Piracés, who explains why non-commercial, open source technology ought to be the baseline for trusted anti-censorship applications.
The Knight News Challenge is looking for ways to make the Internet open, equitable, and free, so Benetech’s Human Rights Program has submitted an idea for a secureApp Generator to benefit journalists, citizen reporters, activists, and other organizations or individuals who need reliable channels for secure mobile data collection and information exchange over the Internet. Check out and support the full concept on The Knight News Challenge website.
