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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.

microsoft

Microsoft: it’s time to come clean about your ties to the Israeli military

18 May 2026

Through a new joint letter, we’re calling on Microsoft to publish the findings of its review into the Israeli military’s use of the company services.

Press Release
Microsoft: it’s time to come clean about your ties to the Israeli military
18 May 2026
Microsoft: it’s time to come clean about your ties to the Israeli military
microsoft

Joint letter to Microsoft regarding Israeli military use of Azure cloud and AI services

18 May 2026

A follow up to our open letter regarding Microsoft’s formal review of recent allegations about Israel’s usage of Azure cloud for the surveillance and targeting of Palestinians.

Press Release
Joint letter to Microsoft regarding Israeli military use of Azure cloud and AI services
18 May 2026
Joint letter to Microsoft regarding Israeli military use of Azure cloud and AI services
Espionage for repression: forensic analysis of a cross-border hack-for-hire campaign targeting civil society in MENA

Hack-for-hire: new report investigates hacking campaign against Egyptian journalists

8 Apr 2026

A new report  by Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline, Espionage for repression: forensic analysis of a cross-border hack-for-hire campaign targeting civil society in MENA, exposes a hack-for-hire campaign targeting two prominent Egyptian journalists and government critics, Mostafa Al-A’sar and Ahmed Eltantawy, through a series of spear-phishing attacks. 

Press Release
Hack-for-hire: new report investigates hacking campaign against Egyptian journalists
8 Apr 2026
Hack-for-hire: new report investigates hacking campaign against Egyptian journalists
KeepItOn 2025 Internet Shutdowns Report

Blocking millions in MENA: internet shutdowns in 2025

31 Mar 2026

Launching today, March 31, 2026, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition’s new report, Rising repression meets global resistance: Internet shutdowns in 2025, reveals that at least 313 shutdowns were implemented in 52 countries. Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), authorities and other actors imposed at least 52 internet shutdowns across 15 countries in 2025, highlighting the continued rise of digital repression across the region.

Press Release
Blocking millions in MENA: internet shutdowns in 2025
31 Mar 2026
Blocking millions in MENA: internet shutdowns in 2025
a web of connected eyes on a purple and blue background

Addressing human rights abuses and attacks on press freedom facilitated by AppLogic Networks in Egypt

12 Feb 2026
Press Release
Addressing human rights abuses and attacks on press freedom facilitated by AppLogic Networks in Egypt
12 Feb 2026
Addressing human rights abuses and attacks on press freedom facilitated by AppLogic Networks in Egypt
a web of connected eyes on a purple and blue background

From Sandvine to AppLogic Networks: a rebrand doesn’t mean reform

12 Feb 2026

Access Now, alongside several human rights organizations and independent news platforms, are calling on AppLogic Networks (previously Sandvine) to substantiate its announced corporate reforms following its removal from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.

Press Release
From Sandvine to AppLogic Networks: a rebrand doesn’t mean reform
12 Feb 2026
From Sandvine to AppLogic Networks: a rebrand doesn’t mean reform
Cameroon

Civil society coalition calls for Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity amid Iran’s internet shutdowns

23 Jan 2026
Press Release
Civil society coalition calls for Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity amid Iran’s internet shutdowns
23 Jan 2026
Civil society coalition calls for Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity amid Iran’s internet shutdowns
Internet shutdowns typology of harm header

Connectivity as a weapon of war: how internet shutdowns harm civilians in armed conflict

11 Dec 2025

Access Now’s latest report, Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms, unpacks the serious harms that internet shutdowns inflict on civilian populations during armed conflict.

Press Release
Connectivity as a weapon of war: how internet shutdowns harm civilians in armed conflict
11 Dec 2025
Connectivity as a weapon of war: how internet shutdowns harm civilians in armed conflict
Internet shutdowns typology of harm header

Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms

11 Dec 2025

Our latest report, Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms, unpacks the serious harms that internet shutdowns inflict on civilian populations during armed conflict.

Publication
Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms
11 Dec 2025
Internet shutdowns in armed conflict: a typology of harms
microsoft

Microsoft must come clean on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza

10 Oct 2025

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are writing with great concern regarding media reporting alleging that Microsoft has contributed to grave violations of international law perpetrated by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

Press Release
Microsoft must come clean on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza
10 Oct 2025
Microsoft must come clean on its role in Israel’s war on Gaza