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Virtue or vice? A first look at Paragon’s proliferating spyware operations
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This week, The Citizen Lab published its first deep-dive investigation into spyware manufacturer Paragon Solutions, identifying the governments of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel, and Singapore as likely customers, and mapping the vast scale of the infrastructure used to carry out spyware attacks. The report, which was completed with support from Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline among others, comes after Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp accused Paragon of targeting more than 90 of its users, including journalists and migrants’ rights activists, with spyware technology. Read more via The Citizen Lab
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Activist alerts ICC to spyware attack while sharing Libya torture victims’ details
One Paragon victim confirmed in The Citizen Lab’s latest report is David Yambio, an activist and founder of Refugees in Libya, who is based in Italy. He told The Guardian that his mobile phone was under surveillance while he was in close communication with International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, with whom he shared confidential information about victims of torture in Libya. Speaking at the European Parliament last week, Mr. Yambio called out the Italian government’s lack of support following the attacks: “For four months I have been experiencing a nightmare. Our work has been completely put on hold. How do we continue if even the Italian government, where I live, does not respond?” Read more via The Guardian
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Freedom House launches new reporting tool to combat spyware and surveillance technology
As the scourge of spyware continues to spread around the world, civil society organization Freedom House has launched a new template for reporting technologies used to violate human rights. This tool, which is available for public use, is intended to support civil society in sharing information about the abuse of surveillance technologies to the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury, which have a track record of taking action to rein in spyware. Read more via Freedom House
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Our message to France: don’t touch encryption!
Encryption is the backbone of online privacy and security. But now France’s National Assembly is set to vote on an amendment mandating the creation of backdoors to encrypted data, which would make France the weakest link in the world’s chain of communications and data transfers. This is part of a wider pattern of governments prioritizing national security over fundamental rights, deepening the threat to already marginalized communities in Europe and beyond. Access Now joins European Digital Rights (EDRi), La Quadrature du Net, and others in urging French lawmakers to reject this mandate and stand firm in their duty to protect human rights. Read more via EDRi
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A new era of attacks on encryption is starting to heat up
It’s not just France trying to grab control over encryption. As WIRED points out, the UK and Sweden have made similar moves since the start of the year, while Indian and EU lawmakers have been pushing for encryption-harming measures for some time. Explaining the various threats to encryption — from mandated government access to “client-side scanning” to blocking encrypted services — Access Now’s Namrata Maheshwari underscored what is at risk if any of these measures are enacted. “Encryption is a crucial enabler of the full spectrum of human rights,” she notes. “It’s not just privacy. It is what enables you to speak freely, to exercise your freedom of expression, to organize, to assemble, to associate.” Read more via WIRED
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RCS encryption: a leap towards secure and interoperable messaging
On a more positive note, this week also saw a step forward for secure communications, with the GSMA, which represents mobile network operators worldwide, unveiling new specifications for Rich Communication Services (RCS) that include end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This will ensure that messages and files remain private between clients, supporting interoperable E2EE between different platforms and providers — something that Access Now has long advocated for. Read more via GSMA
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Webinar: The human rights-impact of shutdowns in conflict-affected countries in Africa
To learn more about how internet shutdowns harm human rights, especially when people are living through conflict, crisis, and war, join this upcoming online webinar organized by the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights, presented in collaboration with Access Now. The webinar takes place next Tuesday, March 25 at 10h AM South Africa time, and will feature Access Now’s Felicia Anthonio speaking alongside Ourveena Geeresha Topsy-Sonoo, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, among others. Read more via University of Pretoria
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Opportunities and other highlights
RightsCon 2025: share your feedback!
Did you participate in RightsCon last month, whether online or in Taipei? If so, we want to hear from you. Your feedback is essential for helping us shape the future of the world’s leading digital rights summit, so please take a few minutes to complete our short participant survey by March 31 at the latest. Read more via Access Now
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