Digital transnational repression arises when governments use digital technologies to surveil, intimidate and silence exiled dissidents and diaspora communities. It is part of the broader practice of transnational repression, which refers to states using methods such as harassment, coercion-by-proxy, kidnapping, and assassination attempts, in order to control dissent outside their territories. Digital transnational repression has emerged as a critical area of concern in the context of digital threats against human rights, shrinking civic space, and authoritarian interference in democratic societies. The Citizen Lab’s research explores the methods and impacts of digital transnational repression.
Building upon our prior research and the contributions of other scholars to this field, the aim of this novel study is to understand the security risks and harms caused by digital transnational repression against exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders.
هذه الوثيقة هي ترجمة غير رسمية لأجزاء مختارة من التقرير، ولا سيما المقدمة، وملخص رفيع المستوى لنتائجنا، وتوصياتنا المتعلقة بالسياسات. وهي ليست ترجمة كاملة للتقرير، وباعتبارها ترجمة غير رسمية، فقد تفتقر إلى الدقة في بعض أجزائها. لا تهدف هذه الترجمة إلا إلى تقديم فهم عام لأبحاثنا. وفي حالة وجود أي تباين أو غموض، يتم الاحتكام… Read more »
In an article published by the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Citizen Lab senior researcher Noura Aljizawi discusses the leak of personal data of Syrian refugees in Türkiye and the severe impact on their lives.
Our investigation uncovered an extensive Pegasus hacking operation against pro-democracy campaigners in Thailand. At least 30 forensically-confirmed victims of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware between October 2020 and November 2021.
Phones belonging to four Jordanian human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists were hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware between August 2019 and December 2021. We assess that at least two of the four targets were hacked by Pegasus operators primarily focused on Jordan, based on SMS messages containing Pegasus links that map to a cluster of domain names focusing on Jordanian themes.
In this report, we describe how activists and dissidents living in Canada are impacted by digital transnational repression. We conclude that digital transnational repression has a serious impact on these communities, including their ability to undertake transnational advocacy work related to human rights. Yet, there is little support for victims who experience such targeting and policy efforts by the Canadian government to date have been insufficient.
