From cooperation to complicity: meet the companies powering the EU’s digital war on migrants

As the EU intensifies its crackdown on migration, our new investigation reveals how the private sector is helping to build Fortress Europe. We’ve mapped how at least 450 companies have joined events hosted by the EU agencies that implement EU migration policies, pitching digital solutions covering biometrics, airborne surveillance, and big data and AI capabilities. “Migration policies cannot be sold to the highest bidder, at the cost of people’s lives, futures, and rights,” warns Access Now’s Caterina Rodelli. Read more via Access Now

Dig deeper

EU moves to allow two years’ jail for families facing deportation

This week the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee voted through a draconian and deeply dangerous version of the EU’s proposed “Return Regulation.” Pushed by an alliance of far- and center-right lawmakers, the regulation opens the door to immigration raids and deportations, as well as mass data collection, GPS tagging, mobile phone seizures, and data sharing. Ahead of a vote in the parliament’s plenary later this month, we urge Europe’s lawmakers to reverse course and reject this dystopian law. Read more via EU Observer

Reconnect Iran, now

Connect the population: Access Now demands end to Iran’s continued internet blackout amid war

As the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran continues to escalate, Iranians at home and abroad remain cut off, two weeks after connectivity was first severed. The shutdown is also hampering journalists and human rights defenders’ efforts to document possible human rights violations, and gather evidence for future accountability efforts. Access Now condemns the near-total shutdown, urging Iranian authorities to immediately restore internet access and refrain from imposing further disruptions. Read more via Access Now

Offline by decree: Iran’s war on the internet

In wartime, even just trying to connect to the internet could expose Iranians to prosecution, according to the Index on Censorship. Amid the regime’s ongoing attempts to control information flows, people in Iran are receiving SMS warnings that “repeated connection to the international internet” will be referred to the judiciary, a message implying that connectivity is akin to espionage. Read more via Index on Censorship

ICYMI: “Connectivity as a weapon of war: how internet shutdowns harm civilians in armed conflict”

Disrupting the internet in the midst of any armed conflict can have life-altering and even deadly repercussions for civilians. In our report, Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms, published late last year, we identify five distinct forms of harm caused by such shutdowns — physical, psychological, economic, civil and political, and societal — based on more than 120 testimonies from individuals in Gaza and Sudan. Read the full report for our recommendations for keeping people connected and safe. Read more via Access Now

They spied with their little eyes

Will NSO’s U.S. lobbying pay off under Trump?

NSO Group — maker of infamous Pegasus spyware — isn’t giving up on its efforts to get off the U.S. Entity List and into the government’s good books. In a detailed analysis, Tech Policy Press examines the company’s extensive, multipronged lobbying and legal efforts, as it tries to rebrand itself as a responsible actor keen to contribute to a “safer world” — despite the fact that Israel — which controls the export licensing of Pegasus – has repeatedly approved sales to authoritarian regimes around the world. Read more via Tech Policy Press

Italian activists and journalist targeted by spyware in 2024, prosecutors confirm

Last week, Italian prosecutors confirmed The Citizen Lab’s finding that the devices of Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato, as well as those of two migrant rights activists, Giuseppe Caccia and Luca Casarini, were indeed hacked using Paragon’s Graphite spyware. While the company, which claims to be an “ethical” spyware supplier, cut ties with Italy’s government after the initial revelations, it’s still selling its technology to other governments worldwide, including in the U.S., where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly reactivated its contract with Paragon. Read more via The Guardian

The spy in your pocket: how mercenary malware is silencing African dissent

The use of spyware and other surveillance technologies to silence dissenting voices is on the rise across Africa, according to The Africa Report. Examining two recent cases — Kenyan police using Cellebrite technology to hack the phone of activist and presidential candidate Boniface Mwangi, and the targeting of Angolan journalist Teixeira Cândido’s phone with Predator spyware — the outlet analyzes how digital surveillance is deployed to target, intimidate, and censor government critics. Read more via The Africa Report

Opportunities and other highlights

APPLY for RightsCon 2026 connectivity support

With less than two months to go until RightsCon 2026 (May 5-8, Zambia and online), it’s time to register if you haven’t done so already. If you’re planning to join us online, applications are now open for connectivity support. This support can help with purchasing data top-ups or contributing to the cost of internet use; travel to internet cafes; purchasing privacy screens or VPNs; and/or translation, cost of childcare, etc. Read about the eligibility requirements and selection criteria, and apply by March 16. Read more via Access Now

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