We publish a major @citizenlab.ca report on Webloc, an ad-based mass surveillance system that monitors the movements and personal characteristics of hundreds of millions people globally based on data obtained from mobile apps and digital advertising. Customers include ICE, El Salvador, and Hungary.
NEW REPORT: “Uncovering Webloc: An Analysis of Penlink’s Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech”
Our research confirms that ad-based surveillance tech Webloc is used by military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies across the globe.
citizenlab.ca/research/ana...
“Mossad’s intel indicated that […] with the impetus of the spy agency helping to foment riots and rebellion an intense bombing campaign could foster the conditions for the IR opposition to overthrow the regime.”
Who was the intended audience of PRISONBREAK and other ops? Iranians, or Americans?
Apple’s Lockdown Mode feature is the best defense we have against spyware on iOS, macOS, watchOS, and iPadOS. Apple launched the feature four years ago and has not yet seen a device with Lockdown Mode on be compromised. techcrunch.com/2026/03/27/a...
Iran is the worst-case scenario for everything we’ve warned about: AI fakes, real footage dismissed as fabricated, and a regime that engineered the doubt itself.
“The regime controls who gets to document and what gets documented.”
I spoke to @morganmeaker.bsky.social for Bloomberg Weekend.
Today, families across #Iran, #Afghanistan, #Kurdish communities in #Iraq and #Syria, and many other places celebrate the new year. And each community has its own traditions. 1/7
Reports of #DigitalBlackout in #Iran are deeply concerning.
I asked the
@EU_Commission
what steps #EU is taking to counter internet shutdowns and support access to information for people in Iran.
#internetforiran
How can you detect spear-phishing attacks before it’s too late?
Join the first webinar of our new series, “Safe and Strong,” on March 10, which will cover new trends and share practical tips for civil society to raise its defenses.
Register here:
accessnow.org/digital-security-webinars
1/ NEW: There’s currently a heavy push over X in support of (1) the ongoing attacks on Iran (2) Reza Pahlavi. It’s hard to quickly quantify this wave, but anecdotal evidence shows that the main support hashtags - as well as by the *real* people promoting them - are also pushed inorganically.
Sarah McKune, @nateschenkkan.bsky.social, an anonymous @citizenlab.ca researcher, @yaqiu.bsky.social & I have co-authored a UN submission on the enforced disappearance of migrants in the context of transnational repression:
citizenlab.ca/submissions-...
NEW – “Not Safe for Politics: Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi”
New research shows that Kenyan authorities used Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools to access activist Boniface Mwangi’s phone.
Read: citizenlab.ca/research/cel...
NEW @citizenlab.ca report: Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi
citizenlab.ca/research/cel...
Please read our latest on how Israel's Cellebrite is being used to break into the phone of a prominent pro-democracy activist. This time, in Kenya. Guess who else has access to this tool? (with Carlos Mureithi) cc @rondeibert.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Read the latest Spotlight🔆on Freedom:
⛓️How to Support Iranians in Their Tireless Struggle for Freedom
🟧 NEW Transnational Repression (TNR) Watch
📢 ANNOUNCEMENT: Freedom House Appoints Jamie Fly as Chief Executive Officer
More: bit.ly/45RmScP
Subscribe: bit.ly/Subscribe_FHnewsletter
Great to see @nateschenkkan.bsky.social presenting our report “Perpetrators & methods of transnational repression and possible counter strategies” (co-authored w/ @emiledirks.bsky.social @zecsaky.bsky.social & me) in the @afet.europarl.europa.eu
Full report: www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en...
Transnational repression in Germany: at least 18 countries have threatened exiles and diasporas living in the country. @tagesschau.bsky.social sheds light on some cases and slowly emerging policy measures, w/ @basmamostafa.bsky.social @tibetinitiative.bsky.social www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
🚨 New report alert! 🚨
Our new study for the European Parliament on transnational repression in the EU is live!
Co-authored with @zecsaky.bsky.social, @emiledirks.bsky.social, and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social: a great team to work with.
"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital."
How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social
Our PRISONBREAK report @citizenlab.ca is cited in this new NYT story on the manipulation of narratives surrounding the Iranian protests.
Irancell’s CEO was dismissed over delays in internet shutdowns. Doran & Yaftar are tasked with developing DPI to detect Starlink-connected VPNs. Mohammad Amin Aghamiri & Mehdi SeifAbadi are key decision-makers.
filter.watch/english/2026...
If you want to know about the future of AI, take a look at the kaleidoscope of disinfo and psychological operations underway in Iran 🇮🇷
This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
It was an honor (and exciting) to testify on transnational repression and how to address it in the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag. Let’s hope the interest in the issue translates into concrete steps for better protecting those at risk. www.bundestag.de/dokumente/te...
Starlink terminals rely on GPS signals to locate themselves and connect to satellites. By disrupting these signals, Iranian authorities can render the devices unreliable without touching the satellites themselves. When Russia tried similar jamming in Ukraine, SpaceX responded within hours with software updates that restored service. So far, no such fix has arrived for Iran. SpaceX has not commented on the disruption.
Amidst mass killings and internet shutdowns the Iranian regime has also found a way to jam access to Starlink:
restofworld.org/2026/iran-st...
@restofworld.org
After taking to the streets, people in Iran have now been disconnected from the rest of the world for more than five days. That’s +120 hours in the dark!
Alongside +19 orgs, we demand that authorities immediately restore internet access and uphold rights.
www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
"What keeps the Iranian regime alive is its lethal force." Difficult to apprehend how this will end. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
1/ Russian disinfo sponsors can’t believe their luck at the chaos spurred by their American counterparts. Not only politicians, but their tech enablers too, of course.
Meet “Budjetti”. “She” is on X, of course. Openly antisemitic, racist, anti-Ukraine. And completely unchallenged.
New article by Citizen Lab senior legal advisor @sanstis.bsky.social 👉 "Civil society and access to justice: challenges of seeking remedy in the global fight against spyware"
Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....
For 8 days people in #Iran are protesting because daily life has become impossible.
Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities.
Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point.
1/5
Zumretay Arkin is sharing her experience with Transnational Repression by China.
Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe.
Follow me for more info on how to do that.
