Artificial Insecurity: how AI tools compromise confidentiality

Within the first week of launching, Moltbook, an experimental “social network” of 770,000+ AI agents that humans can only observe, has turned out to be riddled with security vulnerabilities. It allows bad actors to hijack insecure agents and trick them into taking certain actions, such as installing malware onto your device. In part one of our new blog series on the dodgy digital security practices underpinning “advanced” AI tools, we explain how these tools can undermine your privacy, and how to pursue more rights-respecting solutions. Read more via Access Now

Dig deeper

ICYMI: Encryption FAQ on encrypted messaging, AI, and more

One of the security threats connected to AI systems relates to the lack of encryption. Popular chatbots rarely offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE), and the integration of AI agents into messaging platforms like WhatsApp is undermining existing E2EE protections. Our 2024 FAQ explains why E2EE is so important for preserving our privacy and security. Read more via Access Now

Reframing AI impact

Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit later this month, The Maybe media collective has produced a series of expert interviews to demystify and interrogate common narratives about AI. From scrutinizing exploitative terms such as “data-rich” and “human capital,” to highlighting the extractive nature of “AI for climate” or “AI for development” projects, the series pushes back against AI hype to imagine “alternative, people-centered futures.” Read more via The Maybe

Stopping the spyware scourge

Spyware maker is hijacking diplomatic efforts to limit commercial hacking, civil society warns

Despite still being on the U.S. Entity List, spyware firm NSO Group is trying its hardest to get back into governments’ good books. Most recently, the company trumpeted its involvement in the international Pall Mall Process, a multistakeholder effort to rein in spyware abuse, as an example of its commitment to transparency and human rights. But as Access Now’s Natalia Krapiva told The Record, “NSO has been frustrating investigations, discrediting victims and researchers and [...] actively trying to avoid accountability and providing remedy to victims.” Rand Hammoud added that to “protect the credibility of an initiative that depends on good faith participation,” Pall Mall organizers should set up “clear criteria for industry engagement.” Read more via The Record

EDRi launches new resource to document abuses and support a full ban on spyware in Europe

European governments have been slow to hold those who develop and deploy spyware accountable for human rights abuses. To step up the pressure, European Digital Rights (EDRi) has launched a document pool to centralize and publicly share resources tracking spyware abuses and support the push for an EU-wide ban on spyware. Read more via EDRi

Violent borders, borderless violence

At Europe’s borders, AI is testing the limits of EU rights

Speaking to The Parliament Magazine, several researchers and lawyers warn that the EU’s deployment of AI technologies at its borders is deepening the chasm between its stated commitment to human rights and the reality on the ground. They highlight, as we have done, that glaring exemptions for law enforcement in the EU AI Act are resulting in a two-tier system, where EU citizens benefit from human rights protections, but migrant people do not. Read more via The Parliament Magazine

LISTEN: “Invisible borders”

In the culmination of a two-year research project into how migrant and racialized people face increased surveillance at borders and in transit, the Border Violence Monitoring Project (BVMP) has launched a podcast series unpacking, among other things, how the tools used at Europe’s techno-borders entrench systemic exclusion and discrimination and how EU policies governing border surveillance have become increasingly hostile. Read more via BVMP

Opportunities and other highlights

APPLY: RightsCon Young Leaders Summit

Are you between the ages of 18 and 30 and interested in the intersection of human rights and technology? Then we encourage you to apply to join the Young Leaders Summit at RightsCon 2026 (May 5–8, Lusaka, Zambia and online), a one-day, in-person gathering designed to help young people shape the future of human rights in the digital age. Please note that, while participants will receive a complimentary ticket for RightsCon 2026, we cannot provide travel or accommodation support. Learn more and apply by February 28. Read more via Access Now

Don’t forget to register!

If you haven’t grabbed your tickets for RightsCon yet, never fear; early bird prices are still available until February 20! If you’re planning to join us in person, check out our Plan Your Travel page for guidance on visas for Zambia, accommodations, flights, safety and more. Read more via Access Now

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