Tag: Whatsapp

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.

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.

The government must clarify whether it has transactions with NSO Group, and if not, establish an independent inquiry into over-broad, illegal surveillance of journalists and other members of civil society in India.

Of 1,400 victims of targeted attacks through WhatsApp, more than 100 were members of civil society.

This week Access Now joined the open letter by the Center for Democracy & Technology to urge Facebook to continue to increase end-to-end security across its messaging services, in the face of government efforts to weaken it and hurt the human rights of countless users.

Access Now and Digital Rights Watch call on Facebook to resist “Five Eyes” government over-reach and breach of basic human rights and ensure their users private communications and the best possible security online.

Access Now wrote to the governments of Bulgaria and Cyprus to request investigations into export licenses reportedly issued to NSO Group, which sells surveillance products linked to human rights violations.

Discovery of a vulnerability in WhatsApp that can be exploited via government-grade spyware underscores the need for more action to prevent use of these tools against human rights defenders and other innocent users.