The Citizen Lab
@citizenlab.ca
Research and development at the intersection of cyberspace, global security, and human rights. Based at Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.
Pinned
From Protest to Peril: Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society - The Citizen Lab
Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these f...
citizenlab.ca
NEW REPORT ➡️ “From Protest to Peril: Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society”
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
On Feb 19 join the Citizen Lab's Kate Robertson to discuss the role of technology and the current state of play in border externalization.
Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 12, 2026 at 7:27 PM
On Feb 19 join the Citizen Lab's Kate Robertson to discuss the role of technology and the current state of play in border externalization.
Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
The People's Consultation on AI launched today! Whether you have in-depth expertise in AI issues, or don't consider yourself an "expert" but have firsthand experience with AI or its impacts and want to have your say, this is for you. Participate by March 15, 2026: www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca
January 22, 2026 at 12:38 AM
The People's Consultation on AI launched today! Whether you have in-depth expertise in AI issues, or don't consider yourself an "expert" but have firsthand experience with AI or its impacts and want to have your say, this is for you. Participate by March 15, 2026: www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
If you also believe that ISED using AI tools to "process" submitted comments just added more layers of sham & illegitimacy to an already poorly conceived consultation process... might I suggest contributing to the People's Consultation on AI #PCAI instead? Thread with more details here:
February 5, 2026 at 5:28 PM
If you also believe that ISED using AI tools to "process" submitted comments just added more layers of sham & illegitimacy to an already poorly conceived consultation process... might I suggest contributing to the People's Consultation on AI #PCAI instead? Thread with more details here:
Senior research associate @emiledirks.bsky.social spoke with @icij.org about a new report he co-authored on #transnationalrepression in the EU.
Read it here: www.icij.org/investigatio...
Read it here: www.icij.org/investigatio...
New EU report urges more aggressive action against transnational repression - ICIJ
The report cites ICIJ’s China Targets investigation and calls for improved coordination across the bloc.
www.icij.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Senior research associate @emiledirks.bsky.social spoke with @icij.org about a new report he co-authored on #transnationalrepression in the EU.
Read it here: www.icij.org/investigatio...
Read it here: www.icij.org/investigatio...
Senior fellow Cynthia Khoo spoke with CBC about the People’s Consultation on AI, launched by a civil society working group last week in response to the federal government’s “national sprint” on AI.
#cdnpoli
Read here: cbc.ca/news/canada/...
#cdnpoli
Read here: cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Human rights groups launch 'people's consultation' on AI after criticism of government effort | CBC News
A number of human rights groups and advocates have launched what they call a "people's consultation" on the use of artificial intelligence, which will be delivered to the federal government as it mull...
cbc.ca
February 2, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Senior fellow Cynthia Khoo spoke with CBC about the People’s Consultation on AI, launched by a civil society working group last week in response to the federal government’s “national sprint” on AI.
#cdnpoli
Read here: cbc.ca/news/canada/...
#cdnpoli
Read here: cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Citizen Lab senior researcher Bill Marczak served as a key witness in a UK ruling that ordered Saudi Arabia to pay £3M to Ghanem al-Masarir, a London-based dissident who was targeted with #Pegasus spyware.
Read the ruling: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026...
Read the ruling: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026...
Ghanem Al-Masarir v Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -
Find Case Law
- The National Archives
caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
February 2, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Citizen Lab senior researcher Bill Marczak served as a key witness in a UK ruling that ordered Saudi Arabia to pay £3M to Ghanem al-Masarir, a London-based dissident who was targeted with #Pegasus spyware.
Read the ruling: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026...
Read the ruling: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026...
Senior research associate @emiledirks.bsky.social will be presenting a report on transnational repression at the EU Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on Jan 28.
Tune in here: www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/e...
Tune in here: www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/e...
Highlights | Home | AFET | Committees | European Parliament
Main page of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). Latest news, links to documents and videos of meetings.
www.europarl.europa.eu
January 26, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Senior research associate @emiledirks.bsky.social will be presenting a report on transnational repression at the EU Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on Jan 28.
Tune in here: www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/e...
Tune in here: www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/e...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
PM Carney 🇨🇦gave a courageous speech with a lot of real-talk about the "rupture" in the international order.
But he left something out: the values that define us as a country & distinguish us from the fascist train wreck in the US 🇺🇸
My oped w Jason Stanley
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
But he left something out: the values that define us as a country & distinguish us from the fascist train wreck in the US 🇺🇸
My oped w Jason Stanley
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
What Carney didn’t say in Davos is what the world needed to hear most
The world is looking to Canada for reassurance that a stable multicultural democracy is not only possible but desirable.
www.thestar.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:04 PM
PM Carney 🇨🇦gave a courageous speech with a lot of real-talk about the "rupture" in the international order.
But he left something out: the values that define us as a country & distinguish us from the fascist train wreck in the US 🇺🇸
My oped w Jason Stanley
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
But he left something out: the values that define us as a country & distinguish us from the fascist train wreck in the US 🇺🇸
My oped w Jason Stanley
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
The Canadian 🇨🇦 govt, and its Minister of AI and Innovation, is rushing headlong into full blown AI.
All gas, no brakes, no real consultation
So we're launching the People’s Consultation on AI
You can find out more here 👇:
www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca/news-updates/
All gas, no brakes, no real consultation
So we're launching the People’s Consultation on AI
You can find out more here 👇:
www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca/news-updates/
January 21, 2026 at 3:48 PM
The Canadian 🇨🇦 govt, and its Minister of AI and Innovation, is rushing headlong into full blown AI.
All gas, no brakes, no real consultation
So we're launching the People’s Consultation on AI
You can find out more here 👇:
www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca/news-updates/
All gas, no brakes, no real consultation
So we're launching the People’s Consultation on AI
You can find out more here 👇:
www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca/news-updates/
NEW REPORT ➡️ “From Protest to Peril: Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society”
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
From Protest to Peril: Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society - The Citizen Lab
Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these f...
citizenlab.ca
January 22, 2026 at 1:51 PM
NEW REPORT ➡️ “From Protest to Peril: Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society”
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
Our investigation reveals that, since 2020, Jordanian authorities have deployed Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products against civil society targets in Jordan.
Full report here: citizenlab.ca/research/fro...
On its one-year anniversary, @rondeibert.bsky.social Chasing Shadows is now out in paperback with a new afterword + endorsement by @margaretatwood.bsky.social
Order a copy here: chasingshadowsbook.ca
Order a copy here: chasingshadowsbook.ca
January 21, 2026 at 6:48 PM
On its one-year anniversary, @rondeibert.bsky.social Chasing Shadows is now out in paperback with a new afterword + endorsement by @margaretatwood.bsky.social
Order a copy here: chasingshadowsbook.ca
Order a copy here: chasingshadowsbook.ca
Senior researcher @noura.bsky.social speaks with CBC Ideas about her experience returning to Syria after the fall of the al-Assad regime to grieve for the first time in 13 years.
Listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
The Right to Remember: Memorializing in Syria
Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now, people are starting to share stories about the loved ones they lost, and creating spaces for public grief. IDEAS hears a...
www.cbc.ca
January 21, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Senior researcher @noura.bsky.social speaks with CBC Ideas about her experience returning to Syria after the fall of the al-Assad regime to grieve for the first time in 13 years.
Listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
Thanks to @technologyreview.com and Finian Hazen (who was a student in my special seminar @buffett.northwestern.edu) for this profile of our work @citizenlab.ca
“It’s [Citizen Lab] one of the few institutions that investigate cyberthreats exclusively in the public interest, and in doing so, it has exposed some of the most egregious digital abuses of the past two decades.”
Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone
Ronald Deibert and his research group, the Citizen Lab, have rigorously worked to unveil alarming digital threats for the past two decades. Now, he warns, this kind of work is under threat.
www.technologyreview.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Thanks to @technologyreview.com and Finian Hazen (who was a student in my special seminar @buffett.northwestern.edu) for this profile of our work @citizenlab.ca
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
It was an honor (and exciting) to testify on transnational repression and how to address it in the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag. Let’s hope the interest in the issue translates into concrete steps for better protecting those at risk. www.bundestag.de/dokumente/te...
Deutscher Bundestag - Diskurs über Menschenrechtspolitik der Bundesregierung
Mit dem 16. Bericht der Bundesregierung über ihre Menschenrechtspolitik (20/14480) hat sich der Ausschuss für Menschenrechte und humanitäre Hilfe bei einer öffentlichen Anhörung am...
www.bundestag.de
January 15, 2026 at 12:43 PM
It was an honor (and exciting) to testify on transnational repression and how to address it in the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag. Let’s hope the interest in the issue translates into concrete steps for better protecting those at risk. www.bundestag.de/dokumente/te...
Citizen Lab sr. researcher @fittarelli.com speaks with the @tbij.bsky.social about ‘wikilaundering’ by bad actors intending to spread #disinformation.
Read the article: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
Read the article: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires
Founded by Keir Starmer’s comms chief, Portland helps rich clients ‘protect their reputation’ – with a shady, off-the-books service
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Citizen Lab sr. researcher @fittarelli.com speaks with the @tbij.bsky.social about ‘wikilaundering’ by bad actors intending to spread #disinformation.
Read the article: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
Read the article: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
So thrilled to see the paperback edition of Chasing Shadows (chasingshadowsbook.ca) - including a lovely endorsement by the great @margaretatwood.bsky.social (thank you Margaret!)
Includes a new afterword which picks up where I left off, focusing on the techno-fascist descent in the US🇺🇸
Includes a new afterword which picks up where I left off, focusing on the techno-fascist descent in the US🇺🇸
January 16, 2026 at 4:51 PM
So thrilled to see the paperback edition of Chasing Shadows (chasingshadowsbook.ca) - including a lovely endorsement by the great @margaretatwood.bsky.social (thank you Margaret!)
Includes a new afterword which picks up where I left off, focusing on the techno-fascist descent in the US🇺🇸
Includes a new afterword which picks up where I left off, focusing on the techno-fascist descent in the US🇺🇸
NEW Citizen Lab website just launched! See what's new at citizenlab.ca
The Citizen Lab - The Citizen Lab
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research unit at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. We apply our collective expertise in the fields of law, computer scie...
citizenlab.ca
January 14, 2026 at 6:54 PM
NEW Citizen Lab website just launched! See what's new at citizenlab.ca
New article by Citizen Lab senior legal advisor @sanstis.bsky.social 👉 "Civil society and access to justice: challenges of seeking remedy in the global fight against spyware"
Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....
Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....
www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca
January 6, 2026 at 5:43 PM
New article by Citizen Lab senior legal advisor @sanstis.bsky.social 👉 "Civil society and access to justice: challenges of seeking remedy in the global fight against spyware"
Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....
Read it here: www-tandfonline-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/full/10....
Citizen Lab director @rondeibert.bsky.social speaks with @technologyreview.com about the Lab’s work, noting that “the type of research that we pioneered is under threat like never before.”
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...
Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone
Ronald Deibert and his research group, the Citizen Lab, have rigorously worked to unveil alarming digital threats for the past two decades. Now, he warns, this kind of work is under threat.
www.technologyreview.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Citizen Lab director @rondeibert.bsky.social speaks with @technologyreview.com about the Lab’s work, noting that “the type of research that we pioneered is under threat like never before.”
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
Belarusian KGB put spyware on phones of detained journalist.
Growing list of cases where authoritarian regimes use detention to implant spyware on phones:
🦠Belarus
🦠Kenya
🦠Serbia
And likely plenty more.
Important investigation & reminder that dictators don't always need zero-days.
Growing list of cases where authoritarian regimes use detention to implant spyware on phones:
🦠Belarus
🦠Kenya
🦠Serbia
And likely plenty more.
Important investigation & reminder that dictators don't always need zero-days.
#Belarus: RSF reveals the existence of a previously unknown spyware tool, used since at least 2021 by the KGB against journalists. Installed after the physical confiscation of phones, #ResidentBat constitutes a grave violation of press freedom. RSF calls for a ban on these surveillance technologies.
Exclusive: RSF uncovers new spyware from Belarus
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Digital Security Lab (DSL), working with the Eastern European organisation RESIDENT.NGO, has uncovered a previously unknown spyware tool used by the State Security Co...
rsf.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Belarusian KGB put spyware on phones of detained journalist.
Growing list of cases where authoritarian regimes use detention to implant spyware on phones:
🦠Belarus
🦠Kenya
🦠Serbia
And likely plenty more.
Important investigation & reminder that dictators don't always need zero-days.
Growing list of cases where authoritarian regimes use detention to implant spyware on phones:
🦠Belarus
🦠Kenya
🦠Serbia
And likely plenty more.
Important investigation & reminder that dictators don't always need zero-days.
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
An excellent & very disturbing overview of the scope & scale of domestic surveillance systems deployed in the US 🇺🇸 by @peter.andringa.me @financialtimes.com 👇
Ostensibly for deportation, these can (& likely are) being fine-tuned for deployment on critics of the Trump regime -- a chilling prospect
Ostensibly for deportation, these can (& likely are) being fine-tuned for deployment on critics of the Trump regime -- a chilling prospect
NEW: We took a deep dive into ICE's data dragnet: the data brokers, biometrics tools, and license plate readers powering Trump's deportation effort. Some of the contracts are for tools previous administrations deemed too intrusive.
Trump’s immigration data dragnet
The US is pulling in vast amounts of personal information in its drive to deport 1mn people this year
ig.ft.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
An excellent & very disturbing overview of the scope & scale of domestic surveillance systems deployed in the US 🇺🇸 by @peter.andringa.me @financialtimes.com 👇
Ostensibly for deportation, these can (& likely are) being fine-tuned for deployment on critics of the Trump regime -- a chilling prospect
Ostensibly for deportation, these can (& likely are) being fine-tuned for deployment on critics of the Trump regime -- a chilling prospect
Reposted by The Citizen Lab
Add this one to the many other reasons why I've been declining invitations to attend anything in the United States.
U.S. 🇺🇸 Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
U.S. 🇺🇸 Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
U.S. Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Add this one to the many other reasons why I've been declining invitations to attend anything in the United States.
U.S. 🇺🇸 Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
U.S. 🇺🇸 Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
Today at 11 am ET: Senior research associate Kate Robertson will be testifying on Bill C-8 in the 🇨🇦 House of Commons SECU Committee Meeting.
Watch live: www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
#cdnpoli
Watch live: www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
#cdnpoli
December 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Today at 11 am ET: Senior research associate Kate Robertson will be testifying on Bill C-8 in the 🇨🇦 House of Commons SECU Committee Meeting.
Watch live: www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
#cdnpoli
Watch live: www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentView...
#cdnpoli
New paper from @gabriellelim.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social et al. on the methodology of digital rights governance research and avoiding the “kitchen sink approach.”
Read it in Internet Policy Review: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
Read it in Internet Policy Review: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
Avoiding the kitchen sink: A guide to mixed methods approaches within digital rights governance
In this article, we performed a scoping review and argue that mixed or multi-method designs can better support collaboration when thoughtfully applied. However, indiscriminately combining methods with...
policyreview.info
November 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
New paper from @gabriellelim.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social et al. on the methodology of digital rights governance research and avoiding the “kitchen sink approach.”
Read it in Internet Policy Review: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
Read it in Internet Policy Review: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
PODCAST: Senior fellow @cyn-k.bsky.social discusses the issues with Canada’s ‘national sprint’ on AI, calling it “a slap in the face to anyone who’s been harmed by these kinds of reckless approaches to technology.”
Listen to the episode here: rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
#cdnpoli
Listen to the episode here: rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
#cdnpoli
The AI hype-machine: Canada’s ill-advised ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence
Cynthia Khoo, Jeff Doctor and Hadrian Mertons-Kirkwood discuss the dangers of Canada’s accelerated approach to artificial intelligence.
rabble.ca
November 28, 2025 at 1:49 PM
PODCAST: Senior fellow @cyn-k.bsky.social discusses the issues with Canada’s ‘national sprint’ on AI, calling it “a slap in the face to anyone who’s been harmed by these kinds of reckless approaches to technology.”
Listen to the episode here: rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
#cdnpoli
Listen to the episode here: rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
#cdnpoli