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A New Battlefront: The Effect of Commercial Spyware on Independent Media

replay Event

A New Battlefront: The Effect of Commercial Spyware on Independent Media

Wednesday, September 29
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EDT

Speakers

Samuel Woodhams, CIMA Report Author Spyware: An Unregulated and Escalating Threat to Independent Media
Ron Deibert, Director, The Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
Tanja Maksic, Project Coordinator, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) – Serbia
Alia Ibrahim, Co-founder and CEO of Daraj.com

Moderator:
Nick Benequista, Senior Director, CIMA

In a new battlefront against the free flow of information, the growth of the commercial spyware industry is providing repressive governments with sophisticated tools to surveil, harass, and attack independent journalists and their sources.

In a new CIMA report, Samuel Woodhams argues that the proliferation of spyware poses safety risks, encourages self-censorship, and creates new financial and operational strains for news outlets. Woodhams makes the case that protecting independent media from the threat of spyware requires sustained collaboration between media advocates, human rights organizations, journalists, and policymakers.

On Wednesday September 29th CIMA will host an online panel discussion with the report author and other experts who are tracking how the spread of commercial spyware is affecting independent journalism in emerging democracies. The discussion will explore how the use of spyware is undermining broader media development efforts and what can be done about it.

To RSVP and receive call in details, please register here by Tuesday, September 28.