Civil Liberties
1,368 Articles

Encryption Helps Ukrainians Resist Russia’s Invasion, but a European Plan Threatens the Underlying Trust Any Tech User Needs
The intended crime-fighting proposals could force encrypted-messaging services to abandon basic confidentiality or pull out of the market. 

America’s Autocratic Persian Gulf ‘Partners’ Are Actually Liabilities
Support for leaders who remain in power only via repression and cooptation is a recipe for instability, not strategic success.

Iranian Women’s Demands for Freedom Must Be Heard
Iranians continue to protest discriminatory rules in a bid to achieve gender equality. 

Twitter, Elon, Ye, and the “Lex Platformia” – Emergent Rules for Governing Social Media
An emerging set of rules that apply to public expression on platforms hosting content could ensure that necessary democratic safeguards are securely in place.

Canvassing Deserts: When Obstacles to Reaching Urban Voters Become Voter Suppression
Political canvassers operate at the grassroots of participatory democracy. They are coming in droves this election cycle, flocking to homes in swing districts. Their door-knocking…

Turkey’s Erdoğan Deploys Sweden and Finland’s NATO Membership Bids to Further His Repression
Any accession deal must ensure the potential newest members don’t flout the rule of law that helps underpin the strength of the alliance.

Emerging Tech Has a Front-Row Seat at India-Hosted UN Counterterrorism Meeting. What About Human Rights?
Hype and untested promises have accelerated deployment of artificial intelligence, biometrics, and more, in the dubious name of security.

Democracy at Risk: Are The Florida Election Police Violating the Law?
This is an important test case for American democracy in the newfound battles over voter suppression."

Countering Iran’s Brand of Digital Authoritarianism
The Iranian government has perfected a sophisticated model of digital authoritarianism to suppress internal dissent.

Violence Against Transgender People is on the Rise, Stopping it Requires a Holistic Solution
Responding to anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ violence requires support the leaders and organizations building safe communities and networks of safety.

The News Media’s “Democracy Beats” Won’t Beat Back Autocracy
To protect democracy, the press must do more than punish stories. It needs to collaborate, support unions, litigate, and improve diversity.   

US Reinvests in Ethnic Oligarchy in Bosnia, Abandoning Support for Integration
President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, together with allies, should rethink Western Balkans policy based on first principles.