by digiright | Jul 28, 2024 | Our work, Updates
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies hold immense potential to transform societies, economies, and governance systems. However, the rapid advancement and deployment of AI also raises complex ethical, legal, and social challenges particularly in safeguarding human rights.
Bangladesh, recognizing the importance of AI, has drafted a National AI Policy aimed at harnessing its potential while addressing associated challenges. Keeping its potential in mind, the Policy aims to implement it in various sectors to boost the economy and to ensure national security, while making sure there are some pre-emptive measures for some of the inherent risks of AI. This policy brief critically examines the draft policy and digs into the key concerns, highlights ambiguities, and outlines strategies for advocating for inclusive and transparent AI governance.
by digiright | Jul 28, 2024 | Our work, Updates
Promoting Digital Rights in Bangladesh is the first part of a four-part policy brief series initiated by Digitally Right. The primary objective of this initiative is to identify key digital rights priorities in the country, support civil society, industry and the government with relevant knowledge and insights, and promote collaborative, multi-stakeholder discussions.
As the initial installment of the series, this brief provides a broad overview of digital rights priorities, the contemporary policy landscape, needs, gaps, and potential areas for engagement through consultation with stakeholders, including local civil society and international organizations, along with comprehensive desk research. Subsequent briefs in the series will cover specific priority issues, examining content governance, internet access and shutdowns, and privacy and data protection.
by digiright | Jul 4, 2024 | Our work, Updates
The Digital Rights Advocacy training was a four day event organized by EngageMedia. The training was attended by participants from 7 different countries in the Asia Pacific region, namely – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines and Sri Lanka. During each of these sessions the organizers dealt with various aspects related to advocating for rights and at the same time encouraged the participants to share their own experiences in their respective countries.
The first day of the training consisted of introductions among the participants, organizers and the trainers followed by a rundown of the entire training design. Afterwards, the participants were asked to share the safety concerns related to advocating for digital rights in their respective countries. The session concluded with a discussion on the Three-Part Test, a three fold test that is used to determine the validity of a law. On the second day of the training the participants got to learn how to strategize our digital rights advocacy efforts and how to achieve engagement with government agencies. The third day of the training focused on engaging with the private sector including identifying how the private sector can contribute towards the fulfillment of digital rights and aligning the policy priorities of the private sector with digital rights advocacy. The fourth day of the training was a culmination of the learnings from the previous two days and working together for the feedback submission of the Internet We Want.
All four days of the training consisted of numerous interactive sessions and group works. During these group works the participants were divided into 2 groups and they had to come up with advocacy strategies for the various scenarios provided by the organizers. During these exercises the participants discussed the strategies that have worked in their own countries. The most eye opening part of the whole training was how similar the problems faced by all the countries were. For instance, all 7 participants could relate to their countries having laws that justified overbearing surveillance using national security. These group activities helped the participants identify common problems and exchange ideas and strategies that they have applied in their own countries. All in all it was a great network building initiative along with being a training program.
by digiright | Jul 3, 2024 | Digital Security, Our work, Updates
On the 8th of June 2024, Digitally Right organized a Workshop titled “Digital Security Workshop: Mitigating Online Gender Based Violence.” This event is part of the Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project, a USAID-sponsored global program that stands as the largest global effort dedicated to advancing Internet freedom. Digitally Right partnered with Internews and EngageMedia in GIF in Bangladesh.
The Workshop was attended by 16 participants from various CSOs and gender rights activists. Among the 16 participants, 10 belong to the Cyber Support for Women and Children platform. This platform is an alliance of 13 organizations in total that safeguard women and children from violence online. As such, this Workshop was highly relevant and useful for the group. The other 6 participants belong to the OGNIE Foundation, a gender-focused non-profit organization based in Bangladesh.
The Workshop started with an ice breaking session. This workshop took a unique approach where the participants themselves were in charge of the discussion points. With the help of an interactive activity, the participants teamed up to identify the common issues women, in their experience, face online and pinpoint the topics that they want to learn about during the workshop. This activity revealed a concerning number of threats women face online which include revenge porn be it by means of having intimate pictures and videos being leaked without consent or having their pictures photoshopped to appear obscene, hacked social media accounts, identity theft, bullying and doxing.
Based on the threats identified, the participants dove into a session to learn about the risks associated with some common online practices and how to circumvent them. This was followed by a session on password management to avoid social media account hacking, the importance of activating 2 factor authentication, encrypted communication options and how to identify and bypass phishing attempts.
The workshop also included sessions on reporting and documenting harassing and bullying comments online as well as a session on how various apps track our activities on the phone and how to stop them. The last session on the Workshop consisted of a group activity where the participants were divided into groups of 4 and given 4 different scenarios on revenge porn, cyber bullying, identity theft and account hacking. Each group came up with a solution as to how they will handle each of the situations and presented in front of everyone else. This group activity helped everyone to connect and exchange ideas and strategies. The Workshop concluded with a summary of the entire day’s event.
by digiright | May 27, 2024 | Our work, Updates
Following its launch on May 5, 2024, Digital Safety School successfully held its very first 2-day Digital Hygiene Training from 18-19 May. The training was attended by 13 journalists stationed in different parts of Bangladesh. The two-day training started with learning about the basic do’s and don’ts of maintaining digital safety.
On the first day, the participants learned about account and browser security, data encryption tools and how to transfer and delete data securely and the best practices for capturing photos and videos on the ground. The second day of the training consisted of the participants learning about device and communication security, identifying malware and phishing attempts and the use of fact checking tools to identify fake images and videos. After each of these sessions, the participants were given the opportunity to practice the tool they learned about under the supervision of our security expert. This gave the participants more confidence about their capability to use the tools by themselves later on.
When the training concluded, one journalist expressed their gratitude for the opportunity and shared that, “During Covid-19, I would constantly watch videos on social media to learn about safe digital practices and although I was able to learn about the risks of the digital space, I was none the wiser about safe practices. By attending this training, I am now aware of the risks as well as how to protect myself from the threats.”
Another participant shared, “During the session on using fact-checking tools to identify fake images and videos, I thought that it would not be useful for me. But once the session ended I realized that the session was relevant for me and I did not even realize how much I needed it.”
by digiright | May 5, 2024 | Our work, Updates
Digitally Right is delighted to launch Digital Safety School. The objective of this school is to empower individuals and organizations with the skills to navigate current and emerging digital threats. Through this initiative, Digitally Right aims to support civil society, media and the private sector as well.
This school offers one free access and two on-demand services. The school will organize a monthly two-day free access training which interested candidates can apply for. The training will be administered by Digitally Right’s expert team. Apart from that, the school will also offer on-demand services such as training packages based on the needs of different organizations and digital safety audits for small to mid-sized organizations. In the near future, the school aims to launch a resource center which will provide tailored tips and advice on emerging digital trends and threats.
If you are a journalist, or editor or fall within the broader civil society, please apply for our free access training using the form. The training is expected to be held on the third week of each month and candidates will be selected on a rotational basis.
The Digital Safety School is a collaborative initiative and we welcome partnerships and collaborations from organizations who share our vision of a safer digital future. For inquiries regarding collaboration opportunities, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via email at dss@digitallyright.org.
For further information and to stay updated on the latest developments, explore our website at https://digitalsafetyschool.com.
Join us on this journey towards a safer and more secure digital future.
