Amid Threats, Global Gathering Seeks to Reseed Digital Rights Ecosystem
Last month, public interest technologists, civil society advocates, journalists and researchers who defend human rights and freedom of speech around the globe met in Estoril, Portugal at the Digital Rights Defenders Global Gathering. Amidst threats to democracy and the aftershocks of the withdrawal of US support for internet freedom and digital rights organizations in dozens of countries, one might anticipate the mood would be glum; but the joy of being together was evident in this group.
Longtime friends and colleagues reunited in an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance, and some participants brought their children, adding to the sense of family. It was clear to see the mutual recognition of people who understand each other and the deeply specialized languages they speak — technical and otherwise — and who dedicate their lives to building tech to protect human rights and freedoms (as well as various forms of geeky fun).
These are people who personally see the impact of their work in the visceral experiences of communities around the globe struggling to make their voices heard, often from within repressive regimes. Under the festival village’s twining trees in golden September sunlight, participants reminisced about the late 2010s era of the Arab Spring, when Signal and Tor, and other encryption, peer-to-peer, and circumvention softwares were developed with the support of USAID, the State Department, and global democracy advocates. Now, of course, parent groups, happy hour chums, and political antagonists alike are among the millions that use Signal every day.
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If you’re online, you’re generating a constant stream of information about yourself — sometimes voluntarily, sometimes unwittingly — that is assembled and used to craft your online experience. And generate wealth for data brokers. Meanwhile, designers and managers of the digital infrastructure on which the world depends are engaged in a never-ending effort to thwart attempts, by both criminal enterprises and state actors, to exploit vulnerabilities in those systems.
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Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
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