Authoritarian governments and anti-democratic actors are increasingly using sophisticated surveillance programs, restrictive laws, and emerging technologies to curtail human rights and constrain civic spaces. Laws that restrict rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and privacy, as well as regulatory and technical tools, are used to censor and criminalise human rights activists, journalists, and civic movements.
This has led to the proliferation of digital threats, including censorship, online harassment, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, which disproportionately affect marginalized groups, including women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and ethnic minorities. The deployment of new technologies such as AI and biometric recognition has made it even more crucial for communities to be prepared to face these threats.
About Civic DEFENDERS
EngageMedia is the Southeast Asia regional partner of Civic DEFENDERS, a five-year global program launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to “empower local civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders to prevent, mitigate, and respond to digital repression in the face of increasing authoritarianism and censorship.” Internews leads a consortium of organisations working to counter digital repression and build long-term resilience within civil society.
Building on previous successes of the Greater Internet Freedom project, Civic DEFENDERS will achieve this goal through four objectives:
- Improved digital security of civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders, particularly women and other marginalised groups;
- Enhanced civil society influence in policy advocacy on digital governance issues, especially by women and other marginalised groups;
- Increased access to the unrestricted Internet by civil society, journalists, and activists in contexts experiencing censorship or connectivity disruptions;
- Improved holistic support for civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders experiencing digital repression, especially women and other marginalised groups.
EngageMedia will be working with local partners in two Southeast Asian countries to implement capacity-building activities and advocacy campaigns, among others. EngageMedia will also organise regional-level activities in line with the project’s goals.
The other members of the Internews-led consortium supporting Civic DEFENDERS include The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Public Fund Civil Internet Policy Initiative, Co-Creation Hub, Derechos Digitales, Digital Security Lab Ukraine (DSLU), Paradigm Initiative (PIN), SHARE Foundation, SMEX, and international non-government organisations, like ARTICLE 19, DevTech, Global Network Initiative (GNI), The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), Open Briefing, and Ranking Digital Rights (RDR).