Russia used Cellebrite tool to jail activist after company claimed to have ended contract

A new Citizen Lab investigation reveals that Russian authorities used Cellebrite’s technology to hack the device of human rights activist Andrey Pivovarov — three months after the company announced it was cutting off sales to Russia “immediately.” Together with the Citizen Lab and Pivovarov, Access Now has written to Cellebrite, an Israeli company with a history of supplying tech to repressive regimes and facilitating human rights violations, to demand the company exit markets responsibly and take all necessary steps to halt the abuse. Read more via Access Now

Using tech to repress

Digital surveillance is breaking activist mental health

A new report by Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur for the rights to freedom of assembly and of peaceful association, highlights how intrusive state-sponsored digital surveillance inflicts deep psychological trauma on activists, creating a chilling effect that erodes the right to assembly. According to Romero, this “ecosystem of suspicion,” where governments “weaponize uncertainty,” is forcing civil society actors into a “permanent state of hypervigilance” and isolating them from one another. Read more via Global Voices

Bulgaria allowed surveillance tech firm to sell products to repressive regimes

New research from Human Rights Watch reveals that the Bulgarian government licensed Circles BG, a company affiliated with infamous spyware supplier NSO Group and co-founded by sanctioned Intellexa executive Tal Dilian, to export its surveillance technology to multiple countries known for human rights abuses. The licenses enabled Circles to export interception systems, communications monitoring software, and other intrusive tools to authorities in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Ghana, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries. Read more via The Record

READ: “Spear-phishing campaign targets Ukrainian CSOs”

The Digital Security Lab Ukraine (DSLU), an Access Now grantee and Digital Security Helpline partner, has uncovered a coordinated spear-phishing campaign targeting Ukrainian civil society and government officials. Hackers impersonated a Polish former MEP and attempted to deceive targets with false invitations to the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference. Read more via DSLU

When AI goes to war

Amicus brief in Anthropic case warns that AI does not erase international law

AI-accelerated warfare continues to spread around the world. This week, Access Now filed a second joint amicus brief in the ongoing Anthropic vs. the U.S. Department of War (DOW) lawsuit over the use of AI in lethal autonomous weapons, together with our partners Abolitionist Law Center, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Tech Justice Law. Our brief reminds both parties of their legal obligations to protect civilians and prevent war crimes. "Accountability cannot and should not be automated away,” says Access Now’s Michael de Dora. “AI may accelerate decision-making, but it cannot diminish legal responsibility." Read more via Tech Justice Law

LISTEN: “Computer says kill: how to say no with Matt Mahmoudi and Marwa Fatafta”

How can we push back against human rights violations that emerge from the use of AI in war? Access Now’s Marwa Fatafta joined Amnesty International’s Matt Mahmoudi in a special Computer Says Maybe podcast series focusing on AI and militarization. Read our recent joint statement on AI-acclerated warfare, now endorsed by more than 300 organizations and experts, and tune into the podcast to learn more about the resistance. Listen now via The Maybe

Making AI work for all

A recipe for artificial intelligence with Latin American flavor (in Spanish)

When it was launched, Latam-GPT was presented as a locally tailored, large language model (LLM) “made by and for Latin America” that would help people achieve more technological independence. But as Access Now’s Franco Giandana Gigena argues in our latest Spanish-language post, the tool raises questions about how best to foster innovation in a resource-constrained region, a process that should entail increasing collaboration, taking a community-based approach, and working to reflect local cultural values. Read more via Access Now

Build for everyone: a framework for LGBTQ+ representation and safety in AI

The use of AI can create new risks for LGBTQ+ people and communities already facing digital threats — from reinforcing harmful biases to spreading anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation. U.S.-based rights group GLAAD unpacks how the development and deployment of AI can undermine the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, and calls for careful regulatory oversight to prevent abuse and marginalization. Read more via GLAAD

Opportunities and other highlights

JOIN US: “Stronger together: digital security and resilience for LGBTQ+ people”

With backlash against queer and gender-diverse communities on the rise, our Digital Security Helpline is holding a “Safe and strong” webinar on July 14 focused on increasing awareness of digital threats to LGBTQ+ people and laying out practical solutions for staying safer online. Check out the details and register here. Read more via Access Now

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