Support Palestinian Digital Rights

We're excited to share an update on what 7amleh has been working on over the past few months.

Shareholder Engagment

In May, 7amleh teamed up with shareholders on important efforts to hold Big Tech accountable. Meta's shareholders partnered with 7amleh to introduce a proposal at the company's Annual Shareholders Meeting, calling on Meta to publish a report assessing the effectiveness of its human rights due diligence processes in addressing content moderation failures that facilitate human rights violations, with a focus on Gaza. PayPal shareholders partnered with 7amleh to introduce a proposal at the company’s Annual Shareholders Meeting, calling on PayPal to expand access to Palestine and other conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

The proposal at Meta is a historic act, marking the first time shareholders have partnered with Palestinian civil society in efforts to bring Meta to account for its role in ongoing rights violations. To mark the occasion, renowned Palestinian journalist, Faten Elwan, addressed the company’s Annual General Meeting, sharing her own experience being censored by Meta, as an introduction to the proposal. Furthermore, Norges Bank, one of the largest private investors in theworld, voted in favor of our proposal, signaling the power this sort of work can bring to our movement!

Book Launch

“Digital Domination: AI, Surveillance, and Digital Power in Palestine and Beyond”

7amleh, in collaboration with Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies at Birzeit University, co-launched a book in June bringing together five original research papers produced through the first cohort of the Maryam Abu Daqqa Fellowship, a research initiative established by 7amleh to advance critical knowledge production on artificial intelligence, surveillance, digital power, and Palestinian digital rights.

The book critically examines the entanglement of artificial intelligence, surveillance technologies, digital infrastructures, and corporate power in shaping contemporary systems of violence, domination, and control in Palestine and beyond. Through the five research papers, the book demonstrates how innovative technologies increasingly underpin military operations, systems of surveillance, humanitarian governance, information manipulation, and the global political economy of ‘security’ technologies. Read it here.

Our Latest Reports

“The Platformicide of Palestine (2021–2025): A Data-Based Analysis of Meta’s Policy Application, Moderation Enforcement, and Communication”

The report documents patterns of censorship and suppression affecting Palestinian content across Meta’s platforms over a five-year period. 

Developed by 7amleh in partnership with Dr. Fabio Cristiano of Utrecht University, the research is based on an analysis of 3,520 cases submitted to the Palestinian Observatory for Digital Rights Violations (7or) between 2021 and 2025. The findings indicate that Meta’s moderation of Palestinian content is not the result of isolated errors, but reflects recurring patterns in policy application, enforcement practices, and communication with affected users.

The research found that Meta frequently moderates Palestinian content through its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals (DOI) policy, originally designed to address terrorism and organised violence. The policy was repeatedly applied to content published by journalists, media organisations, civil society actors, activists, and ordinary users, raising concerns that Palestinian expression is routinely approached through a security framework rather than as legitimate political, journalistic, or civic speech. Read it here.

“Palestinian Access to Digital Economy Platforms: Barriers, Disparities, and Policy Responses”

7amleh’s latest report released earlier this month entitled, “Palestinian Access to Digital Economy Platforms: Barriers, Disparities, and Policy Responses.” highlights the systematic exclusion Palestinians face in accessing global digital platforms, including payment services, e-commerce, and remote work platforms. The report finds that Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel face structural barriers that restrict their participation in the digital economy. These barriers are shaped by the intersection of global tech company policies and Israeli control over ICT infrastructure, limiting access to essential economic tools. Read it here.

“Algorithms of Violence: Analysis of Behaviors, Representations, and Implications of Organized Crime on TikTok among Palestinian Society in Israel”

The study examines the relationship between the prevalence of organized crime and the increasing presence of criminal actors on TikTok, and explores the implications of this phenomenon for young people and Palestinian society in Israel. The study concludes that, beyond serving as a platform for entertainment and content sharing, TikTok has, in many cases, become a space exploited by organized crime networks to reproduce violence, construct criminal identities, display power and influence, and communicate with audiences. Read it here.

What Else We Have Been Up To:

A Win! 7amleh Secures Inclusion of Palestinian Geographic Terminology Across Microsoft Platforms Maps

Following months of documentation, direct engagement, and sustained pressure, 7amleh succeeded in compelling changes across Microsoft platforms. This includes Bing’s geolocation infrastructure, which had misclassified locations across the occupied West Bank under the so-called “Judea and Samaria, IL”; a legally incorrect and politically dangerous term used by Israeli settler movements advocating annexation and implicated in ongoing violence against Palestinians. Microsoft has now introduced the appropriate label “West Bank” across these locations, removing “Judea and Samaria” and Israeli attribution from Palestinian areas. 

What remains unresolved is accountability. Microsoft cannot reduce this to a limited data issue while leaving unanswered how Palestinian locations were placed under Israeli labels and why no safeguards prevented it before Palestinian advocacy forced a correction.

7amleh Launches "Digital Defender," Its First Bilingual Educational Game to Promote Digital Safety Among Children

The initiative comes at a time when children are spending increasing amounts of time online while facing growing challenges related to privacy, digital safety, harmful content, and online scams. These challenges make digital literacy and safe internet practices more important than ever for children, parents, and schools. “Digital Defender” is available free of charge in Arabic and English, on Android, iPhone (iOS), and through a web version, making it easily accessible for children, parents, and schools to use at home or in educational settings. Li

7amleh and ARIJ Conclude Specialized Training for Palestinian Journalists on Open-Source Investigations

7amleh, in collaboration with ARIJ, concluded a specialized training on the use of open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools in journalism and investigative reporting. The training brought together 24 Palestinian journalists from the West Bank and 48 areas. The program combined theoretical sessions, practical exercises, and discussions, with a focus on methodologies for obtaining information from open sources and the ethical framework governing their use. It also covered practical and advanced tools for verifying news and digital content, tracking and analyzing open-source information, and applying OSINT tools in investigative journalism.

With your continued support, 7amleh will keep advocating, documenting, and empowering communities in the face of growing challenges. Together, we can help build a safer and more equitable digital future for Palestinians.