Over one year into the war on Gaza, we continue to see escalations in human rights violations through the use of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI). Tech companies have been facilitating Israel’s atrocities against civilians through censorship, surveillance, cyber attacks, disruption of services, mis/disinformation and weaponisation of communication technologies, enjoying full impunity and a shocking lack of accountability.
While the violence and lawlessness continue unchecked, APC member 7amleh – The Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media has produced a detailed new report titled “Palestinian Digital Rights, Genocide, and Big Tech Accountability,” showing the adverse impacts on Palestinian digital rights in the context of Gaza. The report “emphasizes the urgent need for immediate action to protect digital rights, and for developing accountability mechanisms for tech policies to prevent genocide.”
On 2 October 2024, 7amleh held a webinar to discuss their new report as part of the Palestinian Digital Rights Study Group, in partnership with the Institute for Middle East Understanding. Moderated by Lara Friedman (Foundation for Middle East Peace), the webinar invited guest speakers Jalal Abukhater (7amleh), Gayatri Khandhadai (Business and Human Rights Resource Centre) and Chris Godshall-Bennett (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee) to discuss the complicity of big tech in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Online platforms and the censorship of Palestinian voices
Speaking on issues related to online platforms, including censorship, harmful content, problematic advertisements, disinformation and influence campaigns, 7amleh’s Jalal Abukhater stated, “We want to document a new frontier. We have to be aware of how big tech companies have been shaping the landscape of war." He noted that “we’re seeing how digital violations of people’s human rights are taking place at an unprecedented level amidst the war on Gaza. We’ve seen how digital platforms have been abusing and violating people’s human rights on a large, systematic, disproportionate scale, silencing Palestinians.”
“The discriminatory content moderation policies of social media companies have led to unprecedented and systematic censorship of Palestinian voices and content related to Palestine throughout the ongoing war on Gaza.” (Read more in the report)
Big tech and a lack of accountability
Gayatri Khandhadai (BHRRC) addressed how research has clearly shown that big tech companies are actively refusing accountability for their roles in the conflict. “We reached out to 104 tech companies to ask them what efforts they were taking to conduct human rights due diligence and heightened human rights due diligence in the context of Gaza. Of the 104 companies we wrote to, a mere three responded fully, and one other company wrote with a general response,” Khandhadai said. “This low response rate is unprecedented for the resource centre in our entire history of reaching out to different companies in different contexts, including in the context of conflict.” She pointed out that “it really is a damning reflection of the sector’s commitment to transparency as a foundational tenet of corporate accountability but it also has severe implications for Gaza.”
“Surveillance systems, AI technologies, and autonomous weapons rely heavily on vast amounts of data, which are often stored and processed in the cloud. Big tech companies can provide the necessary cloud services needed to process the sheer volume of data required for these technologies, facilitating everything from real-time surveillance to the deployment of autonomous weapons.” (Read more in the report)
Access to information and communication
Commenting on data that indicates online platforms are censoring content, ADC’s Chris Godshall-Bennett remarked how people rely on big tech companies like Meta for communication in regions where many other communication channels have been shut down, and the problems this presents. “We have seen over the last year hundreds of individual posts of organisations’, ranging from reporting and videos of what’s happening to commentary on it, removed by platforms like Meta,” he pointed out. “It’s a difficult question because we want to maintain the use of this tool but at the same time we’re extremely distrustful of it and the unaccountable companies that really have total control over what is allowed to remain.”
“Of particular concern is the intentional and sometimes orchestrated disruption of internet access and communication channels, which not only violates Palestinian digital rights but also serves as a means to advance Israel’s military campaign against Gaza. Such actions also exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation for the affected Palestinian population and hinder their ability to access vital information, communicate with others, and seek assistance in times of need.” (Read more in the report)
Additional resources
- Read the full report “Palestinian Digital Rights, Genocide, and Big Tech Accountability” by 7amleh here.
- The webinar is available to stream via Facebook.
- Join the upcoming webinar on 30 October organised by 7amleh, APC, IFEX, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression: "From Local to Global: The genocide in Gaza and its impact on freedom of expression worldwide". Register here.