Protest and Online Organizing

Tunisia protest

Protests and Online Organizing

The right to protest is essential for the future of human rights, justice, and democracy. Protests and online organizing are evolving in digital spaces, and autocratic governments are responding with attempts to undermine privacy, quell dissent, and punish those who speak out. We demand governments and companies respect and protect our freedom to assemble, associate, and speak freely, online and off. We also offer activists and human rights defenders digital safety tools and resources.

Tunisia protest

Will the Right to Protest survive its migration online?

The human right to protest is crucial because it is a gateway right —  it onboards us to other rights. Even for those who have never participated in a protest, or ever plan to, many of the rights we enjoy today are the result of others in the past exercising their right to protest for those rights.

Resources

Content Governance

New world disorder: digital attacks on freedom of assembly

Access Now’s latest report examines the power — and fragility — of our rights to peaceful assembly and association in the digital era.

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Freedom of Expression

Iran: alarm over mass arrests of human rights defenders amidst protests

Civil society call for an end to the deliberate violence and arrests against human rights defenders, journalists, and activists during the Iran protests

Digital rights

Freedom of Expression

At the U.N., a new push to end surveillance of protesters — and protect their lawyers

Digital surveillance is threatening the right to protest worldwide. U.N. human rights expert Clément Voule is fighting for strong encryption and tight restrictions on the use of spyware. Here’s why that push is important for human rights lawyers and the activists they represent.

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Freedom of Expression

Arab Spring: ten years in, how can we reclaim the internet as an open space?

The internet played a pivotal role during the Arab Spring protests. But a decade on, the state of internet freedom in many Arab countries has deteriorated. Join us for a virtual conversation to explore the evolution of the digital space from a tool of mobilization to one of repression.

|Image: surveillance cameras on the street.

Covid-19

RightsCon spotlight: “The Privatised Panopticon: Workers’ Surveillance in the Digital Age”

In a session with European Digital Rights at RightsCon, we will explore how surveillance technology can make your workplace function like a prison: a privatised panopticon that threatens labour movements and undermines human rights.

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Digital Security

Human rights groups ask U.N. to intervene in U.S. crackdown on racial justice protesters

Access Now and partners ask the United Nations to take a stand against the U.S. government’s violent response to peaceful protests.

Digital Security

To #SaveDotOrg, we still need safeguards

Today, NTEN, EFF, and Access Now delivered the following letter to the leaders of ISOC and PIR calling on them to reflect and to take immediate action to adopt the safeguards put forward by the #SaveDotOrg campaign.

Latest Updates

Ethiopian government internet
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Arrêtez de couper l’internet en Guinée : les autorités doivent garder internet accessible pendant les manifestations

24 May 2023

Access Now et la coalition #KeepItOn condamnent fermement les coupures d’internet et la censure des médias dans le pays.

Press Release
Arrêtez de couper l’internet en Guinée : les autorités doivent garder internet accessible pendant les manifestations
24 May 2023
Arrêtez de couper l’internet en Guinée : les autorités doivent garder internet accessible pendant les manifestations
Comunicado conjunto contra la persecución de Oscar Costero
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Comunicado conjunto contra la persecución de Oscar Costero

22 May 2023
Press Release
Comunicado conjunto contra la persecución de Oscar Costero
22 May 2023
Comunicado conjunto contra la persecución de Oscar Costero
Comunicado conjunto contra la persecución de Oscar Costero
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Organizaciones de sociedad civil denuncian la persecución del activista venezolano Oscar Costero

22 May 2023
Press Release
Organizaciones de sociedad civil denuncian la persecución del activista venezolano Oscar Costero
22 May 2023
Organizaciones de sociedad civil denuncian la persecución del activista venezolano Oscar Costero
Ethiopian government internet
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Stop shutting down the internet in Guinea: authorities must #KeepItOn amidst protest

22 May 2023

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition strongly condemn the internet shutdowns and media censorship in the country.

Press Release
Stop shutting down the internet in Guinea: authorities must #KeepItOn amidst protest
22 May 2023
Stop shutting down the internet in Guinea: authorities must #KeepItOn amidst protest
Tech and conflict
Transparency
Transparency

Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct

18 May 2023

This guide is meant to help tech companies think through the impacts of their decisions in the context of conflict.

Guide
Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct
18 May 2023
Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct
Access Now and partners call on the Indian government to review the current legal and regulatory framework governing internet shutdowns.
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

To defend democracy, stand up for civil society 

30 Mar 2023

As governments, businesses, and civil society organizations gather for the 2nd U.S. Summit for Democracy, our message is clear: to defend democracy in the digital age, states must stand up for civil society, online and off.

Post
To defend democracy, stand up for civil society 
30 Mar 2023
To defend democracy, stand up for civil society 
Kazakhstan internet
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Ethiopian authorities must stop blocking social media

10 Feb 2023

Authorities in Ethiopia must immediately reinstate full access to social media platforms across the entire country, and put an end to censorship.

Press Release
Ethiopian authorities must stop blocking social media
10 Feb 2023
Ethiopian authorities must stop blocking social media
Image: Taxonomy of internet shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Internet throttling in Bangladesh: government, telcos must #KeepItOn

12 Dec 2022

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are demanding unfettered access to all people across Bangladesh at all times.

Press Release
Internet throttling in Bangladesh: government, telcos must #KeepItOn
12 Dec 2022
Internet throttling in Bangladesh: government, telcos must #KeepItOn
Image: Taxonomy of internet shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Open letter: authorities and telecom providers in Bangladesh must maintain unhindered internet access for all

9 Dec 2022

The #KeepItOn coalition calls on public authorities and internet service providers in Bangladesh to not interfere with internet access.

Press Release
Open letter: authorities and telecom providers in Bangladesh must maintain unhindered internet access for all
9 Dec 2022
Open letter: authorities and telecom providers in Bangladesh must maintain unhindered internet access for all
Burkina Faso internet
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

The world must support people in Iran: sanctions relief helps connect the nation

26 Sep 2022

Access Now supports sanctions relief to keep Iran country connected — to information, platforms for expression, and the outside world.

Press Release
The world must support people in Iran: sanctions relief helps connect the nation
26 Sep 2022
The world must support people in Iran: sanctions relief helps connect the nation
Image: KeepItOn elections watch 2022
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

#KeepItOn: 2022 elections and internet shutdowns watch

26 Sep 2022

Elections and internet shutdowns are a disaster for democracy. See which countries the #KeepItOn coalition is watching in 2022.

Post
#KeepItOn: 2022 elections and internet shutdowns watch
26 Sep 2022
#KeepItOn: 2022 elections and internet shutdowns watch
internet shutdown
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Update: internet access, censorship, and the Myanmar coup

18 Mar 2022

The Myanmar military is consolidating control over the telecom sector, expanding surveillance and invading privacy. The telecom sector must push back.

Press Release
Update: internet access, censorship, and the Myanmar coup
18 Mar 2022
Update: internet access, censorship, and the Myanmar coup
Burkina Faso internet
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Burkina Faso must immediately end its internet shutdown, not extend it

25 Jan 2022

The government of Burkina Fast must stop all attempts to control expression, communication, and access to information through arbitrary internet shutdowns.

Press Release
Burkina Faso must immediately end its internet shutdown, not extend it
25 Jan 2022
Burkina Faso must immediately end its internet shutdown, not extend it
internet shutdown #KeepItOn
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

#KeepItOn: people in Kazakhstan have the right to internet access

17 Jan 2022

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are calling for open, accessible internet in Kazakhstan, and a commitment from authorities to ensure it is upheld.

Press Release
#KeepItOn: people in Kazakhstan have the right to internet access
17 Jan 2022
#KeepItOn: people in Kazakhstan have the right to internet access
internet shutdown
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Internet shutdowns and blockings continue to hide atrocities of military coup in Sudan

23 Nov 2021

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition are again calling on authorities in Sudan to immediately restore full access to the internet and all communication services.

Press Release
Internet shutdowns and blockings continue to hide atrocities of military coup in Sudan
23 Nov 2021
Internet shutdowns and blockings continue to hide atrocities of military coup in Sudan
#KeepItOn
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

#KeepItOn: Eswatini authorities shut down internet to quell protests, ask people to email grievances

21 Oct 2021

Access Now is calling for an immediate reinstatement of internet access across Eswatini after authorities shut down the internet yesterday, June 29, in response to large-scale pro-democracy protests. 

Press Release
#KeepItOn: Eswatini authorities shut down internet to quell protests, ask people to email grievances
21 Oct 2021
#KeepItOn: Eswatini authorities shut down internet to quell protests, ask people to email grievances