Civic Space and Digital Rights

Civic space in Palestine is increasingly under pressure, also online, with activists facing both Israeli occupation and growing restrictions from the Palestinian Authority. Together with 7amleh, PAX advocates for digital rights by targeting governments and social media companies to combat online hate speech and discriminatory moderation policies.

Image: Dmitriy Feldman Svarshik/Shutterstock

Civic space in Palestine is under severe pressure, also online, with Palestinian activists facing a double challenge: the Israeli occupation and increasing restrictions by the Palestinian Authority. Together with 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, PAX advocates for Palestinian civic and digital rights. This work includes addressing online hate speech, discriminatory content moderation, and the suppression of Palestinian voices on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and X.

7amleh is the leading Palestinian organization focused on securing digital rights through training, research, and events like the Palestine Digital Activism Forum. Their efforts have led to impactful outcomes, such as Meta’s revisions to its content moderation policies and the reinstatement of wrongfully removed Palestinian accounts and posts.

Through global advocacy and partnerships, PAX and 7amleh aim to protect freedom of expression, amplify Palestinian voices, and promote accountability from governments and social media companies.


Strengthen civic space and digital rights in Palestine


What is the problem?

Online civic space is under intense pressure for Israeli and Palestinian organizations and activists, with Palestinian activists facing a dual challenge: the Israeli occupation and an increasingly restrictive Palestinian Authority. Since the onset of the war on Gaza on the 7th of October 2023, defending Palestinian digital rights has become even more difficult. In an era characterised by technological advancements and global connectivity, the digital sphere has become a volatile battleground, shaped by political and power dynamics that marginalize Palestinian voices. Artificial Intelligence systems have exacerbated these challenges, fuelling online censorship, hate speech, and discriminatory moderation policies, while also impacting offline realities. This shrinking digital space threatens freedom of expression and the ability to share witness accounts and reflections globally. Addressing these interconnected challenges is crucial to ensuring justice, accountability, and the protection of human rights in both physical and digital spaces. 

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What is our stance?

At PAX, we believe that an open civic space – both offline and online – is essential for a just and peaceful society. The ability to express opinions, share stories or experiences, and advocate for rights without fear of censorship or discrimination is a cornerstone of democracy and fundamental freedoms. For Palestinians, whose voices are often silenced by occupation, restrictions, and discriminatory algorithms, safeguarding digital civic space is especially critical. This space not only empowers individuals and communities to share their experiences but also fosters global solidarity and advocacy for justice. In an increasingly digital world, preserving this space is vital for promoting peace, justice, and equality.  

online campaign on Meta (image: 7amleh)

What we do

The ongoing discriminatory practices against Palestinians underscores the importance to engage in discussions with representatives of the leading AI and technology companies, international governments, civil society and human rights organizations, and media institutions. These discussions aim to address the impact of the biased policies, which normalizes discrimination against Palestinians and intensifies its consequences. Moreover, it will explore strategies for utilizing mobilization and digital tools to unite efforts against the systematic discrimination against Palestinians and other oppressed communities worldwide.   

As part of these efforts, and despite challenging circumstances, 7amleh hosts the yearly Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF). PDAF seeks to offer a platform for discussion and dialogue with the objective of generating a constructive policy and practical proposals to end digital discrimination against Palestinians and other communities globally. The forum was the first in the Arab region to focus on Artificial Intelligence, bringing together yearly over 1,200 participants from around the world to explore for example AI’s implications for human rights. The two-day forum hosts around 70 international expert speakers and collaborated with around 50 partner organisations globally. 

Furthermore, 7amleh engages in advocacy work. They advocate for example around the importance of building an independent Gaza telecommunications infrastructure. Additionally, 7amleh submits reports to UN bodies on freedom of expression and to the Business and Human Rights Working Group, which, in turn, has sent letters to Israel, the USA, UAE, Google, Telegram, Meta, and X. Finally, 7amleh lobbies social media companies like Meta and TikTok to improve policies and combat online discrimination. These efforts have led to meaningful changes, such as revisions to Meta’s DOI (Dangerous Organizations and Individuals) policy and Meta’s policies regarding discrimination between Hebrew and Arabic content. 7amleh is a trusted partner of several social media companies.  

Digital Security Training (image: 7Amleh)

Wat did we achieve?

Through our partnership with 7amleh, PAX aims to expand online civic space, counter online hate speech, and bring attention to the growing challenges with digital rights faced by Palestinians and citizens worldwide. Together, we have supported 7amleh’s capacity to address these issues globally, including growing the Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) into a leading international event. The PDAF now connects human rights advocates across 67 countries, overcoming barriers such as war and occupation to advancing intersectional struggles for digital rights. PAX has supported 7amleh’s advocacy efforts targeting governments, social media platforms, and international organizations, enabling policy changes, such as revisions to Meta’s discriminatory moderation practices. Our collaboration ensures that Palestinian voices are amplified, digital rights supported, relevant authorities and companies addressed, and global awareness raised about the shrinking online civic space.  

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Partners

Contact

Thomas van Gool, projectleider Israël-Palestina 

vangool@paxforpeace.nl