Citizen Lab researchers @sanstis.bsky.social, @mmichae1sen.bsky.social, and @katepundyk.bsky.social write about how restrictive immigration policies enable transnational repression for @fpcthinktank.bsky.social. Read: fpc.org.uk/immigration-...

Long Read | Immigration Policy: The Backdoor to Transnational Repression - The Foreign Policy Centre

Democratic governments are stepping up efforts to combat transnational repression, but restrictive immigration policies may inadvertently help authoritarian regimes target dissidents.

fpc.org.uk

How can victims of transnational repression obtain justice? muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Want to do some weekend reading? Check out our July issue while it's still free! muse.jhu.edu/issue/5...

Read our July issue for FREE through July 30! muse.jhu.edu/issue/5...

I have a new Op-Ed in @theguardian.com (with Bruce Schneier) on the social chill of AI surveillance. If widely deployed, it will be corrosive to democracy & social progress. We cite my new book #ChillingEffects on how surveillance & tech shapes behavior at scale: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

AI surveillance is being supercharged – and it will chill social progress | Bruce Schneier and Jon Penney

These systems will soon be able to track our public and private lives. But we can make the policy choices to reject it

theguardian.com

"Without legal or political changes, perpetrators of transnational repression will continue to be served by accountability vacuums." How to Combat Transnational Repression by @sanstis.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @citizenlab.ca muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

⚠️ @citizenlab.ca notes that whoever perpetrated the #spyware attacks on MEP Stelios Kouloglou would have potentially gotten access to internal information about 🇪🇺PEGA's activities & findings. ✍️ @lhn.bsky.social @mattburgess1.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/eu-pol...

EU Politicians Investigated Pegasus Spyware. Then It Ended Up on One of Their Phones

“It is a direct attack on the rule of law,” says one European Parliament member of the new findings from Citizen Lab.

wired.com

Flagging two great pieces just out from @carnegieendowment.org 🧨 @janjiras.bsky.social's piece looks at transnational repression in Thailand carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Inside the Swap Mart: How Thailand’s Domestic Digital Repression Enables Transnational Repression

Thailand is no longer safe for regional activists; neither are Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam for Thai dissidents who had typically sought refuge in those countries.

carnegieendowment.org

A Member of the @europarl.europa.eu Stelios Kouloglou investigating #spyware abuse was hacked with #Pegasus while serving on the PEGA Committee. READ THAT AGAIN. They didn’t only target an MEP. They spied on the investigation into spyware abuse itself. 🧵1/9

Espionage Against the European Parliament: Member of Committee Investigating Spyware Hacked with Pegasus - The Citizen Lab

We found that former Member of the European Parliament Stelios Kouloglou was hacked with Pegasus spyware while serving on the PEGA committee, which investigated Pegasus and other spyware abuses in Eur...

citizenlab.ca

In “How to Combat Transnational Repression,” published in @jodemocracy.bsky.social, Citizen Lab researchers @sanstis.bsky.social and @mmichae1sen.bsky.social write about the lack of accountability for perpetrators of transnational repression. Read: www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how...

How to Combat Transnational Repression | Journal of Democracy

Authoritarians actively threaten, intimidate, and murder exiles and opponents wherever they find them. While justice for victims is hard won, it is possible. Here is how democracies can push back.

journalofdemocracy.org

Happy to share our article w/ @sanstis.bsky.social in which we explore gaps in justice and accountability for targets of transnational repression.

Journal of Democracy@jodemocracy.bsky.social · last mo.

Authoritarians actively threaten, intimidate, and murder exiles and opponents wherever they find them. While justice for victims is hard won, it is possible. Here is how democracies can push back. @sanstis.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @citizenlab.ca muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Happy to share our article w/ @sanstis.bsky.social in which we explore gaps in justice and accountability for targets of transnational repression.

Journal of Democracy@jodemocracy.bsky.social · last mo.

Authoritarians actively threaten, intimidate, and murder exiles and opponents wherever they find them. While justice for victims is hard won, it is possible. Here is how democracies can push back. @sanstis.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @citizenlab.ca muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Our OA chapter "Telegram as a Developing Political Actor: Conceptualising Platform Actorness" with @tanyalokot.bsky.social has just been published as part of the second edition of The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics. #Commsky #Polisky #IRsky #PlatformGovernance #Academicsky

Telegram as a Developing Political Actor | 32 | v2 | Conceptualising P

The chapter examines how the popular messaging service Telegram functions as a platform for politics. Platforms' role in, and effect on, politics can only be

taylorfrancis.com

NEW REPORT ➡️ In collaboration with @icij.org, we identified two distinct actors aligned with the People’s Republic of China that have been targeting and impersonating journalists and civil society. Full report: citizenlab.ca/research/how...

Tall Tales: How Chinese Actors Use Impersonation and Stolen Narratives to Perpetuate Digital Transnational Repression - The Citizen Lab

In collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), we identified what we conclude to be two distinct actors aligned with the People’s Republic of China. Our findin...

citizenlab.ca

#TransnationalRepression (when states targets critics beyond their borders) once again on @europarl.europa.eu's agenda. @hneumannmep.bsky.social's report provides urgent roadmap for Commission & Member States to #StopTransnationalRepression Full text 👇 www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/docume...

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social, Associate Director, Technology Threats and Opportunities at @witnessorg.bsky.social reads an extract from her essay ‘Layered trust signals, not silver bullets: what Iran shows the UK about AI and public trust’ which is featured in the 2026 Full Fact Report.

Weaponizing Online Dissent a New Tool in Escalating Transnational Repression www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...

Azerbaijan: Exiled Critics Convicted in Absentia

Azerbaijani authorities are prosecuting critics in exile, often based on social media posts and online commentary, Human Rights Watch said today. Those targeted, often convicted in absentia with long ...

hrw.org

Auf Grundlage aktueller Forschung beleuchtet die Begleitveranstaltung zur Sednaya-Ausstellung deutsche Verbindungen zum syrischen Repressionssystem. Mit @nourachalati.bsky.social & @thorapindus.bsky.social, Dr. Elke Stadelmann-Wenz moderiert 📅Mi, 17.6.26, 18:00 📍Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen

Deutsche Verbindungen zu syrischen Geheimdiensten - Veranstaltung - 17.06.2026 - medico international

Von geflohenen Nazis und Stasi-Beziehungen

medico.de

Überwachungs-Experte: „Es ist heute unglaublich leicht, den Ruf eines Menschen zu zerstören“ www.diepresse.com/28304695/die...

Überwachungs-Experte: „Es ist heute unglaublich leicht, den Ruf...

Ronald Deibert hat mit seinem Citizen Lab weltweit Überwachungsskandale aufgedeckt. Im Interview erklärt der Kanadier, welche Bedrohung ihn zurzeit mehr beunruhigt als alle anderen zuvor – und...

diepresse.com

At least one German state-level criminal police department (LKA) purchased location data from digital advertising for surveillance, despite lacking a lawful basis, prompting an investigation by the state's data protection authority. Highly problematic on many levels: netzpolitik.org/2026/daten-s...

Deutsche Polizei nutzt offenbar rechtswidrig Databroker

In mindestens zwei Bundesländern hat sich die Polizei Daten von Databrokern beschafft, wie Recherchen von netzpolitik.org und BR erstmals zeigen. Mit solchen Daten könnten sich Handys metergenau orten...

netzpolitik.org

How the longest Internet shutdown ever impacts daily lives in Iran. english.elpais.com/internationa...

Iran offline: The longest internet shutdown ever imposed by a country

The digital blackout ordered by the authorities is disrupting daily life for millions, leaving people unable to communicate normally, work remotely, or access information

english.elpais.com

You cannot make this up...

Nate Schenkkan@nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Rise and Blunder First www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...

How authoritarian regimes silence critics through transnational repression and what #Europe needs to do to #StopTransnationalRepression. More @euractiv.com: www.euractiv.com/news/financi...

Read this thread by @fittarelli.com on a particularly weird figure in the murky world of information manipulation:

Alberto Fittarelli@fittarelli.com · 3mo ago

🧵Here's a little thread on the campaign exposed by @whljustin.bsky.social, and the interesting, if surreal, figure that apparently runs it.

Narges Mohammadi's level of courage and determination are hard to imagine. She is at risk of 'slow execution'.

Peyman Jafari@peymanjafari.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Narges Mohammadi is one of the many political prisoners in Iran who have risked their lives for liberty, social justice and equal rights. Thousands were arrested last January and at least 21 prisoners have been executed since the war on Iran started on Feb 28. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

This must be the weirdest disinformation network and actor I have seen in a long time. Glad I could comment on @whljustin.bsky.social ‘s story about it. Ever see pro-China disinfo sites run by a supposed priest/diplomat/journalist who once posed as a NZ spy and triggered a fake scandal? Read on.

Justin Wong@whljustin.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Now, he's running around Asia as a geopolitical commentator, media executive and ordained priest. My story on @thepost-nz.bsky.social today: www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

We stand in firm solidarity with @accessnow.org and the @rightscon.org community in their mission to defend digital rights and human rights globally.

www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/w... As the Iranian regime intensifies its transnational repression efforts and other threats, the German government seems to struggle to find the right response.

German Leaders Clash With Spy Chiefs Over Domestic Threat From Iran

nytimes.com

Day 66 of Iran's internet shutdown, the longest nationwide blackout. Over 90 million people cut off. Tomorrow I'm joining @farzdusa.bsky.social and J. Alex Dalessio at SplinterCon Online on direct-to-cell, satellite internet, and overcoming shutdowns. Register: splintercon.net/splintercon-...

Under my lead, the @europarl.europa.eu Committee on Foreign Affairs has just backed a report to #StopTransnationalRepression. So authoritarian regimes can no longer reach across their borders - and into #Europe - to silence dissent. Next step: plenary debate and vote in June.