Lebanon: Ensure Draft Media Law Upholds Free Expression

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Digital Safety Helpdesk

Our Work

Building a Movement for Digital Rights in West Asia and North Africa

We work with different stakeholders including digital rights advocates, journalists, lawyers, tech professionals, policy makers, and regional experts to track, analyze, and share the latest updates on human rights in digital spaces. Our evidence-based advocacy is focused on the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

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We support grassroots initiatives and leaders in the digital rights movement through sub-grants to individuals, informal groups, unregistered organizations, and entities working in the WANA region.

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Regional collaboration for evidence-based advocacy on key digital rights issues, built on shared values and coordinated action.

Our Impact

SMEX is a non-profit that advocates for and advances human rights in digital spaces across West Asia and North Africa.

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Participants in Bread&Net, SMEX’s annual gathering

Our Coverage

Advocacy Efforts

We advance digital rights and freedom of expression through regional and international alliances, engagement with UN and EU institutions, and partnering with civil society and technology companies to promote globally informed human rights protections online.

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Campaigns

Keep Communities in Lebanon Safe, Informed, and Connected. Donate now.

SMEX is working to bridge the connectivity gap for our communities in Lebanon, ensuring they can have access to essential digital services and are aware of threats at all times. We are all hearing the stories: your elderly parents and grandparents are displaced and looking for shelter, food, medication; the basic needs of survival, and […]

New Research: Click, Load, Kill: A Look into the Cyberweapon Industry in the WANA Region

Open Letter to Samsung: End Forced Israeli-Founded Bloatware Installations in the WANA Region

In recent months, we have received numerous reports from users across West Asia and North Africa (WANA) expressing alarm over a little-known but deeply intrusive bloatware application—AppCloud—pre-installed on Samsung’s A and M series smartphones. Without users’ knowledge or consent, this bloatware collects sensitive personal data, cannot be removed without compromising device security, and offers no […]

Public voter lists risk more data breaches in Lebanon

Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Status (DGCS) has initiated a campaign encouraging voters to confirm their personal information on online voter lists by March 1, 2025. Under Lebanese municipal and parliamentary electoral law, these lists must publicly display voters’ full names, parents’ names, registration numbers, gender, birth date, and sect to ensure accurate identification. Voters […]

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Bread&Net is SMEX’s annual digital rights gathering bringing together journalists, activists, technologists, and anyone passionate about human rights in digital spaces.

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Advocacy & Resources

The Latest Updates on Digital Rights from West Asia and North Africa

01 Oct 2025

New Research: Click, Load, Kill: A Look into the Cyberweapon Industry in the WANA Region

16 Sep 2025

Lebanon: Ensure Draft Media Law Upholds Free Expression

08 May 2025

Syria: Digital Safety Tips from SMEX’s Helpdesk

Muhal

Muhal is an evidence-based coalition, currently led by SMEX; it aims at documenting detentions and arrests related to online freedom of speech in Lebanon.

MENA Alliance for Digital Rights (MADR)

The MENA Alliance for Digital Rights (MADR) is a coordinated regional network co-founded and currently moderated by SMEX, facilitating collaboration among organizations working on digital rights in the MENA region.

Freedom of Expression Coalition in Lebanon (FoE Coalition)

The Freedom of Expression Coalition in Lebanon (FoE Coalition) brings together 16 organizations to defend freedom of opinion and expression. It is co-founded and currently moderated by SMEX.

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