Marcus Michaelsen
@mmichae1sen.bsky.social
Researching digital tech, human rights & authoritarian politics @citizenlab.ca. https://marcusmichaelsen.eu/
Pinned
NEW REPORT: We investigate the rising trend of gender-based digital transnational repression by drawing on the lived experiences of 85 women human rights defenders living in exile across the globe.
Read the full report: citizenlab.ca/2024/12/the-...
Read the full report: citizenlab.ca/2024/12/the-...
No Escape: The Weaponization of Gender for the Purposes of Digital Transnational Repression - The Citizen Lab
Building upon our prior research and the contributions of other scholars to this field, the aim of this novel study is to understand the security risks and harms caused by digital transnational repres...
citizenlab.ca
More than two years in the making and the final result is amazing: our new report on digital transnational repression against women human rights defenders in exile. Discover how authoritarian regimes weaponize gender to target women activists and journalists abroad.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
For 8 days people in #Iran are protesting because daily life has become impossible.
Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities.
Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point.
1/5
Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities.
Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point.
1/5
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
For 8 days people in #Iran are protesting because daily life has become impossible.
Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities.
Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point.
1/5
Protests & students strikes have continued across more than 78 cities.
Despite intimidation, violence & death! people keep showing up. It's not about a moment. It's about a breaking point.
1/5
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Zumretay Arkin is sharing her experience with Transnational Repression by China.
Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe.
Follow me for more info on how to do that.
Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe.
Follow me for more info on how to do that.
December 31, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Zumretay Arkin is sharing her experience with Transnational Repression by China.
Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe.
Follow me for more info on how to do that.
Let’s #StopTransnationalRepression so human rights advocates like her can go from nowhere safe to now here safe.
Follow me for more info on how to do that.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Autocratic regimes intimidate people in exile by threatening their families in their home countries.
That’s why we have to #StopTransnationalRepression. Follow me for more info on how to do that.
That’s why we have to #StopTransnationalRepression. Follow me for more info on how to do that.
December 28, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Autocratic regimes intimidate people in exile by threatening their families in their home countries.
That’s why we have to #StopTransnationalRepression. Follow me for more info on how to do that.
That’s why we have to #StopTransnationalRepression. Follow me for more info on how to do that.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
I am happy to see this article about the team I am proud to be part of and to manage every day. All my love to the most outstanding team.( Helpline at @accessnow.org )
Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/m...
Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/m...
Meet the team that hunts government spyware
For years, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline has been aiding journalists and dissidents who have been targeted with government spyware. This is how they operate.
techcrunch.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I am happy to see this article about the team I am proud to be part of and to manage every day. All my love to the most outstanding team.( Helpline at @accessnow.org )
Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/m...
Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/12/27/m...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone: a profile of @rondeibert.bsky.social 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
December 24, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone: a profile of @rondeibert.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
For years, TNR experts like @nateschenkkan.bsky.social have long warned that immigration policy is key to confronting transnational repression. This piece shows how host states are now contributing to the repression of Uyghur exiles and diaspora communities. #TNR
www.economist.com/china/2025/1...
www.economist.com/china/2025/1...
Does anyone still want to help the Uyghurs?
Chinese pressure and migration backlashes may result in many being sent back to China
www.economist.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:32 AM
For years, TNR experts like @nateschenkkan.bsky.social have long warned that immigration policy is key to confronting transnational repression. This piece shows how host states are now contributing to the repression of Uyghur exiles and diaspora communities. #TNR
www.economist.com/china/2025/1...
www.economist.com/china/2025/1...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
The German government completely refuses to tell parliament whether German federal police uses unlawfully processed mass behavioral/location data from digital advertising for surveillance purposes or not.
Highly problematic in terms of democratic accountability.
netzpolitik.org/2025/sicherh...
Highly problematic in terms of democratic accountability.
netzpolitik.org/2025/sicherh...
Sicherheitsbehörden und Databroker: Bundesregierung macht Datenkauf zum Staatsgeheimnis
Die Bundesregierung verweigert Transparenz darüber, ob deutsche Sicherheitsbehörden bei Datenhändlern einkaufen. Die Frage ist brisant, denn für den Kauf gäbe es keine sichere Rechtsgrundlage. Das zei...
netzpolitik.org
December 19, 2025 at 10:05 PM
The German government completely refuses to tell parliament whether German federal police uses unlawfully processed mass behavioral/location data from digital advertising for surveillance purposes or not.
Highly problematic in terms of democratic accountability.
netzpolitik.org/2025/sicherh...
Highly problematic in terms of democratic accountability.
netzpolitik.org/2025/sicherh...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
The RSF Berlin Fellowship 2026 is open for applications! Journalists from countries with restricted press freedom can apply for a safe stay in #Berlin, digital security training, resilience workshops and networking. It runs from June until November. www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/fellowship-p...
December 15, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The RSF Berlin Fellowship 2026 is open for applications! Journalists from countries with restricted press freedom can apply for a safe stay in #Berlin, digital security training, resilience workshops and networking. It runs from June until November. www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/fellowship-p...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
4/ Third: We are able to attribute a long-running operation known as "Endless Mayfly" (H/T @citizenlab.ca) to Iran's International Union of Virtual Media. This operation spanned networks we disrupted from 2018 through 2024 and was active across numerous online platforms.
December 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
4/ Third: We are able to attribute a long-running operation known as "Endless Mayfly" (H/T @citizenlab.ca) to Iran's International Union of Virtual Media. This operation spanned networks we disrupted from 2018 through 2024 and was active across numerous online platforms.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
A free #internet remains the only barrier against propaganda & intimidation. As the EP's Delegation for Relations with the People of #Iran, we urge major tech companies to strengthen support for secure, uncensored internet access in Iran. 1/5
EU, US press tech giants to facilitate Iranians’ access to free internet
Members of the European Parliament and the US Congress have urged major technology companies to strengthen support for secure, uncensored internet access in Iran, citing a surge in digital repression ...
www.iranintl.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
⚠️Apple and Google have sent a new round of cyber threat notifications to users around the world, the companies said this week.
Cyber notifications span at least 🌍80 countries.
www.reuters.com/technology/a...
Cyber notifications span at least 🌍80 countries.
www.reuters.com/technology/a...
Apple, Google send new round of cyber threat notifications to users around world
Apple and Google have sent a new round of cyber threat notifications to users around the world, the companies said this week, announcing their latest effort to insulate customers against surveillance ...
www.reuters.com
December 7, 2025 at 6:58 AM
⚠️Apple and Google have sent a new round of cyber threat notifications to users around the world, the companies said this week.
Cyber notifications span at least 🌍80 countries.
www.reuters.com/technology/a...
Cyber notifications span at least 🌍80 countries.
www.reuters.com/technology/a...
What started 10yrs ago as a bunch of academics investigating how authoritarian rulers reach across borders, now on stage at the European Parliament: little moment of pride for research and advocacy on transnational repression.
December 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
What started 10yrs ago as a bunch of academics investigating how authoritarian rulers reach across borders, now on stage at the European Parliament: little moment of pride for research and advocacy on transnational repression.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
1/ Today we release a new report exposing previously undisclosed entities connected to the wider #Intellexa ecosystem as well as newly identified activity clusters in Iraq and indications of activity in Pakistan: www.recordedfuture.com/research/int...
Intellexa’s Global Corporate Web
www.recordedfuture.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:18 AM
1/ Today we release a new report exposing previously undisclosed entities connected to the wider #Intellexa ecosystem as well as newly identified activity clusters in Iraq and indications of activity in Pakistan: www.recordedfuture.com/research/int...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Deutsche Welle is blocked in many countries. BigTech bans apps from their stores so that they can do business in autocracies.
DW is responding with ‘DW - Access’. It circumvents censorship, can be installed directly, and can be used during an internet shutdown. corporate.dw.com/en/dw-access...
DW is responding with ‘DW - Access’. It circumvents censorship, can be installed directly, and can be used during an internet shutdown. corporate.dw.com/en/dw-access...
December 1, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Deutsche Welle is blocked in many countries. BigTech bans apps from their stores so that they can do business in autocracies.
DW is responding with ‘DW - Access’. It circumvents censorship, can be installed directly, and can be used during an internet shutdown. corporate.dw.com/en/dw-access...
DW is responding with ‘DW - Access’. It circumvents censorship, can be installed directly, and can be used during an internet shutdown. corporate.dw.com/en/dw-access...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
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...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
AI is reshaping how we live, work, and communicate. But how will it change democracy?
On Dec 2 join #UofT's Bruce Schneier, Beth Coleman & @rondeibert.bsky.social for "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship."
munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/rewiri...
On Dec 2 join #UofT's Bruce Schneier, Beth Coleman & @rondeibert.bsky.social for "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship."
munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/rewiri...
November 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
AI is reshaping how we live, work, and communicate. But how will it change democracy?
On Dec 2 join #UofT's Bruce Schneier, Beth Coleman & @rondeibert.bsky.social for "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship."
munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/rewiri...
On Dec 2 join #UofT's Bruce Schneier, Beth Coleman & @rondeibert.bsky.social for "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship."
munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/rewiri...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Transnational Repression Escalates: Sexual Violence and Threats Against Zimbabwean Journalist in Exile in Sweden ldsf.info/blog/2025/11...
Transnational Repression Escalates: Sexual Violence and Threats Against Zimbabwean Journalist in Exile in Sweden - Law and Democracy Support Foundation e.V.
Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) strongly condemns the sexual and physical assaults, threats, and surveillance targeting journalist and human rights defender Sophia Tekwani and her family i...
ldsf.info
November 27, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Transnational Repression Escalates: Sexual Violence and Threats Against Zimbabwean Journalist in Exile in Sweden ldsf.info/blog/2025/11...
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Join us tomorrow at 9:30 am EST.
Join us on Nov 26 to explore how gender, technology, and authoritarianism intersect to shape women’s participation in peace and security.
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Join us tomorrow at 9:30 am EST.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
…as we @citizenlab.ca have shown time and time again. Just check our #PRISONBREAK, #JUICYJAM, #HKLEAKS, Endless Mayfly, and many more reports.
X’s decision to show where its accounts are based “is, theoretically, a positive step in the direction of transparency”—yet Elon Musk may have instead revealed that the platform is “just a worthless, poisoned hall of mirrors,” @cwarzel.bsky.social argues.
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
bit.ly
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 PM
…as we @citizenlab.ca have shown time and time again. Just check our #PRISONBREAK, #JUICYJAM, #HKLEAKS, Endless Mayfly, and many more reports.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
As part of a special issue of @iojournal.bsky.social w/ an amazing cast of scholars, Rebecca Cordell & I wrote a piece on the future of human rights given the rise of authoritarian powers and alliances.
Check out "Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights" open access here:
Check out "Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights" open access here:
Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights - Volume 79 Issue S1
www.cambridge.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
As part of a special issue of @iojournal.bsky.social w/ an amazing cast of scholars, Rebecca Cordell & I wrote a piece on the future of human rights given the rise of authoritarian powers and alliances.
Check out "Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights" open access here:
Check out "Authoritarianism, Global Politics, and the Future of Human Rights" open access here:
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
This is fantastic. I just enabled this on Signal Desktop, under Settings --> Chats.
Now on Desktop: Customizable chat folders
Keep healthy boundaries between friends & family or work & leisure.
Filter 1-on-1 and group chats, put all of your unread messages one place, or make project-specific folders for related chats.
Settings > Chats
Or right-click any chat
Keep healthy boundaries between friends & family or work & leisure.
Filter 1-on-1 and group chats, put all of your unread messages one place, or make project-specific folders for related chats.
Settings > Chats
Or right-click any chat
November 19, 2025 at 6:46 PM
This is fantastic. I just enabled this on Signal Desktop, under Settings --> Chats.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Join us next week for an interesting conversation on WPS and digital authoritarianism.
Join us on Nov 26 to explore how gender, technology, and authoritarianism intersect to shape women’s participation in peace and security.
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
November 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Join us next week for an interesting conversation on WPS and digital authoritarianism.
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Join us on Nov 26 to explore how gender, technology, and authoritarianism intersect to shape women’s participation in peace and security.
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
November 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Join us on Nov 26 to explore how gender, technology, and authoritarianism intersect to shape women’s participation in peace and security.
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
Get info & register: citizenlab.ca/2025/11/webi...
@amnesty.org @sheassociates.bsky.social @mmichae1sen.bsky.social @noura.bsky.social @sanstis.bsky.social
Reposted by Marcus Michaelsen
Absolutely vile
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Absolutely vile