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Dear John,

With elections coming soon in Australia, the Philippines, Ecuador, and other countries worldwide, now is a good time to highlight a trend that has emerged in Freedom House's research: governments are taking more steps to protect the vote from digital threats, often by creating or enforcing rules to address false, misleading, or incendiary content.  

In the most recent edition of Freedom on the Net, Freedom House identified South Africa’s recent elections as an example of how civil society can play a vital role in strengthening free expression and access to information—including by bolstering efforts to defend rights, and challenging instances where authorities risk limiting protected speech.

Click below to learn more from South Africa’s example on how civil society engagement improves voters’ ability to make informed choices on election day. 

UN Human Rights Council in Question

After ignoring pleas from diplomats and rights groups, the Thai government recently deported 40 Uyghur men to China where they could face repression and torture. This act of transnational repression (TNR), carried out by two member states of the UN Human Rights Council, underscores the gap between rhetoric and reality in discussion of TNR at the United Nations.

New Reporting Tool Addresses Spyware, Harmful Tech 

Freedom House has launched a new template for reporting technologies that are used to violate human rights. This new reporting tool, which is available for public use, will help civil society inform regulators about harmful products and practices.

The Struggle For Trust Online

Of the 72 countries covered by our most recent Freedom on the Net report, conditions for human rights online deteriorated in 27.

Click below to read more about the state of internet freedom around world, and how to protect it going forward.

Support Our Vital Work on Tech & Democracy

Freedom House has been a leader in identifying emerging threats to freedom and responding effectively. But we cannot do this work alone. Your donation maximizes our ability to respond to the findings from Freedom on the Net and carry out our work today, tomorrow, and into the future.

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