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Marwa Fatafta

MENA Policy and Advocacy Director

Marwa leads Access Now’s policy and advocacy work on digital rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Her work spans a number of issues at the nexus of human rights and technology including content governance and platform accountability, online censorship, digital surveillance, and transnational repression. She has written extensively on the digital occupation in Palestine and focuses on the role of new technologies in armed conflicts and humanitarian contexts and their impact on historically marginalized and oppressed communities. Marwa is a Policy Analyst at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, an advisory board member of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, and an advisory committee member for Bread&Net. Marwa was a Fulbright scholar in the US and holds an MA in International Relations from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She holds a second MA in Development and Governance from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Les Applications de traçage numérique pour la lutte contre le COVID-19 dans la région MENA: un cauchemar pour les données personnelles

26 Jun 2020
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Les Applications de traçage numérique pour la lutte contre le COVID-19 dans la région MENA: un cauchemar pour les données personnelles
26 Jun 2020
Les Applications de traçage numérique pour la lutte contre le COVID-19 dans la région MENA: un cauchemar pour les données personnelles
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الشفافية مطلوبة: هل يلحق الضرر حرية التعبير في تونس جرّاء جهود فيسبوك الساعية إلى تفكيك “عملية قرطاج”؟

26 Jun 2020
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الشفافية مطلوبة: هل يلحق الضرر حرية التعبير في تونس جرّاء جهود فيسبوك الساعية إلى تفكيك “عملية قرطاج”؟
26 Jun 2020
الشفافية مطلوبة: هل يلحق الضرر حرية التعبير في تونس جرّاء جهود فيسبوك الساعية إلى تفكيك “عملية قرطاج”؟
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Rights groups to Facebook on Tunisia’s “disappeared” accounts: we’re still waiting for answers

23 Jun 2020

After Facebook disabled 60+ accounts of Tunisian users, we and our partners wrote the company to ask why. We’re still waiting for a full and public response.

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Rights groups to Facebook on Tunisia’s “disappeared” accounts: we’re still waiting for answers
23 Jun 2020
Rights groups to Facebook on Tunisia’s “disappeared” accounts: we’re still waiting for answers

COVID-19 contact-tracing apps in MENA: a privacy nightmare

18 Jun 2020

At the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a number of countries in the MENA region turned to technology to help track and prevent the spread of the virus, using apps, drones, and even robots to monitor the movement of citizens under quarantine.

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COVID-19 contact-tracing apps in MENA: a privacy nightmare
18 Jun 2020
COVID-19 contact-tracing apps in MENA: a privacy nightmare
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Transparency required: is Facebook’s effort to clean up “Operation Carthage” damaging free expression in Tunisia?

12 Jun 2020

“Operation Carthage” has revealed attempts to leverage Facebook to influence elections in Tunisia and countries in Africa, and the company disabled accounts without explanation. We’re demanding answers.

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Transparency required: is Facebook’s effort to clean up “Operation Carthage” damaging free expression in Tunisia?
12 Jun 2020
Transparency required: is Facebook’s effort to clean up “Operation Carthage” damaging free expression in Tunisia?

#FreeAlaa: Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah on hunger strike protesting his continued illegal detention

29 Apr 2020

Civil society organizations, lawyers, journalists, and activists are urging the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah, and in response to COVID-19, immediate measures to protect Egypt’s prison population.

Press Release
#FreeAlaa: Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah on hunger strike protesting his continued illegal detention
29 Apr 2020
#FreeAlaa: Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah on hunger strike protesting his continued illegal detention

MENA: amid COVID-19 fear and chaos, don’t be a privacy offender!

28 Apr 2020

Many internet users in the Middle East and North Africa region are disclosing other people’s personal data on social media. During COVID-19, violating privacy can risk lives.

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MENA: amid COVID-19 fear and chaos, don’t be a privacy offender!
28 Apr 2020
MENA: amid COVID-19 fear and chaos, don’t be a privacy offender!

وسط حالة الخوف والفوضى في ظل فيروس كوفيد-19 في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا: لا تشارك في انتهاك خصوصية الآخرين!

28 Apr 2020
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وسط حالة الخوف والفوضى في ظل فيروس كوفيد-19 في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا: لا تشارك في انتهاك خصوصية الآخرين!
28 Apr 2020
وسط حالة الخوف والفوضى في ظل فيروس كوفيد-19 في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا: لا تشارك في انتهاك خصوصية الآخرين!
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Global civil society urges Gulf countries to unblock internet calling services

7 Apr 2020

Access Now, together with more than 25 organizations, signed a joint statement urging the UAE, Oman, and Qatar to permanently lift the ban on WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype, and all other VoIP platforms, especially in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Press Release
Global civil society urges Gulf countries to unblock internet calling services
7 Apr 2020
Global civil society urges Gulf countries to unblock internet calling services
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COVID-19: Gulf governments must unblock all VoIP technologies

7 Apr 2020

More than 25 civil society organizations from around the world are calling on the UAE, Oman, and Qatar to immediately and permanently restore access to services for internet voice and video calls.

Press Release
COVID-19: Gulf governments must unblock all VoIP technologies
7 Apr 2020
COVID-19: Gulf governments must unblock all VoIP technologies