Reflecting on the year in digital rights

As the year draws to a close, and many of us prepare for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, we’re wrapping up by dedicating the last Express issue of 2024 to reflections from Access Now staff. We asked them to share what they’re most proud of this year, and what they hope for in 2025. Here they are, in their own words.

Before you read further, we also want to thank you for your support. We hope you share this newsletter with your colleagues or family members. If you want to help defend digital rights, here are other ways you can support us. We wish you a very peaceful festive season, and we’ll be back in your inboxes on January 17, 2025.

Our very best to you and yours,

Méabh and Donna

ALEJANDRO MAYORAL BAÑOS, ED

We must show the power of unity

“Since joining Access Now as executive director, I’ve been inspired to meet and work alongside digital rights changemakers whose fierce dedication persists even as our community faces enormous challenges around the world. Over the past year in Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, and many other areas of deepening conflict and crisis, we've seen oppressive regimes use technology to surveil, censor, and suppress. Yet technology also allows us to push back, resist, and build new pathways for enjoying our basic rights and freedoms. This is not just a technical or policy problem; everyone who cares about the future of human rights must address the root causes of digital authoritarianism: populism, elected autocrats, faltering democracies, and a compliant tech sector. In 2025, it's time to strengthen our connections, stand together, and show the power of unity. Join us as we renew our commitment to defending and extending the digital rights of the people and communities most at risk around the world.”

CATERINA RODELLI, EU POLICY & ADVOCACY

Hope is a discipline to nurture in 2025

“The 2024 European Parliament elections marked a sharp turn to the far-right, heralding a tough new era for human rights advocacy in Europe. But resistance is ongoing. During a field trip to Greece to see how and where surveillance technologies are deployed at Europe’s borders, I met organizations and individuals working hard to support migrants and racialized people in the face of automated asylum procedures, weaponized digital research, and dehumanizing digitized detention centers. Initiatives such as the Migrant Justice Community of Practice and the Weaving Liberation Digital Retreat show there is still the will and the room to push back against digital injustice, and reminded me that, to quote Mariame Kaba, ‘hope is a discipline’ that we must nurture, practice, and protect.”

MICHAEL DE DORA, U.S. POLICY & ADVOCACY

Collective action is how we fight back

“This year saw some of the most serious violations of digital rights around the world, and I’m deeply appreciative of my colleagues’ efforts to continue to help people impacted while themselves experiencing and managing traumatic situations. Through collective action we were able to achieve accountability for spyware companies enabling human rights abuses, ensure U.S. diplomatic pushback to internet shutdowns around the world, and raise human rights standards in AI policymaking. If 2024 proved anything for human rights defenders, it’s that we must stick together in 2025.”

KASSEM MNEJJA, MENA CAMPAIGNER

We must confront the digital dimension of war

"This past year highlighted how digital rights are weaponized in war. In Gaza, Sudan, and Lebanon, internet shutdowns, surveillance, and targeted AI-powered attacks have deepened people’s suffering, and as we head into 2025, policymakers must address this growing digital dimension of conflict, which amplifies harm and hampers the delivery of humanitarian aid to those who need it most. Now more than ever, we need urgent action to hold governments and tech companies accountable, safeguard digital rights, and acknowledge the life-and-death role technology plays in modern warfare."

TONUSREE BASU, POLICY DIRECTOR

Our priority: holding governments and companies accountable

“This year the enabling environment for digital rights shrank even further. We documented the highest-ever number of internet shutdowns and an increased weaponization of digital tools, including the use of AI in warfare and continued surveillance of activists and journalists. I am proud that Access Now’s advocacy work across six continents helped uncover horrific rights violations and supported local partners in pushing back. Our overarching policy goal in 2025 will be to hold governments and companies accountable, and we hope to center human rights and accountability in international AI governance discussions, starting with the French AI Action Summit.”

NARO OMO-OSAGIE, AFRICA POLICY & ADVOCACY

Let’s keep driving meaningful change across Africa

"The moments that we spent in person with our regional partners in 2024 were a powerful reminder of both the significant challenges we face and the remarkable strength of the people driving digital rights advocacy in Africa. We continued pushing back against internet shutdowns, harmful digital ID systems, LGBTQ+ repression, and privacy violations, amid rising repression and attacks on civic space. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m eager to continue to strengthen our relationships with partners, and to keep driving meaningful change across the continent."

DESIRÉE MORALES DÍAZ, DEVELOPMENT

Pushing forward in the face of uncertainty

“My 2024 highlight was witnessing my incredible colleagues stand as beacons of hope in a world too often clouded by injustice. Their dedication to our mission inspires me every day. Together with our community, we push forward even in the face of political uncertainty. As we look ahead to 2025, I encourage you to join us in standing up for digital rights. Your support matters.”

ACCESS NOW OPS, FINANCE TEAM

We’re proud to be helping behind the scenes

"In 2024, Access Now's finance team was proud to support our mission from behind the scenes. We play our part in defending digital rights by ensuring our financial wellbeing — which in turn allows our whole organization to move forward and tackle the immense challenges for human rights in the digital age."

DONNA WENTWORTH, EDITORIAL MANAGER

We can make space for joy, collaboration, and connection

"These days, it’s easy to get depressed and overwhelmed by the suffering of so many people. But at work, I get to focus on the people who fight back and make a difference. I’m glad to have been part of what Access Now has accomplished together with our partners this year — uncovering spyware abuses and making real strides for spyware accountability, reinforcing hard-fought norms against internet shutdowns, protecting human rights defenders, and so much more. My hope for 2025 is that we can continue to celebrate the victories and work together to protect and preserve spaces for joy, collaboration, and connection. That’s what will sustain our work even in the darkest of times."

WAJD, COMMS & PROJECT MANAGER

Let 2025 be the year every voice is heard

“My hope for 2025 is that everyone, everywhere, can fully claim their rights to free speech and privacy — online and off. No more censorship disguised as cybercrime laws; no more governments jailing and spying on those who speak the truth; no more internet shutdowns cutting people off from the world; no more Big Tech silencing people during conflict; no more digital iron curtains; and no more amplifying hate speech against marginalized communities. Because when at-risk voices are suppressed, the digital archive tells a one-sided story — and it’s rarely a truthful one.”

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