Data and Activism

Whether a non-governmental organisation or a human rights defender, in today’s society, our data is collected, stored and analysed every step of the way. From visa applications to social media profiles, from attending a conference to meal choices on a flight, sharing a photo from a protest or simply walking past a CCTV camera – we are rendered into data which is quantified, cross referenced and compiled to form profiles about us as individuals and social graphs about us as groups.

Within the blurred lines between corporations and governments; and the elevated threats against the work of human rights defenders in many countries; these profiles take a different dimension beyond corporate interests, and can become at times, the center of the threat model. Under this project, the Data and Activism team aims to trace how this process happens, raise awareness on its different implications; and – where possible – explore protection strategies and creative responses.

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More from this project

How to Create a Data Policy

Working with data comes with risks. This four-step guide from our Data & Activism project is designed to help individuals, NGOs and other civil society actors create their own Data Policy.

Online Events and Personal Data

In this chapter of the Organiser's Activity Book, discover what types of personal data are created during online events. Learn about the tools that are available to host online events; the differences in how they work; and their risks and benefits.

Event Promotion for Organisers

This new chapter of the Organiser's Activity Book from our Data & Activism project looks at event promotion. The playful activities, aimed at organisers, campaigners and human rights defenders, explore the consequences, risks and benefits of using tools like social media in terms of personal data.

Travel and Our Data Baggage

What data traces do we leave when we travel? A new chapter of the playful, interactive Organiser's Activity Book helps civil society organisers deal with 'data baggage', including flights, visas and accommodation.

The Organiser’s Activity Book

The Organiser’s Activity Book is a new self-learning resource from Tactical Tech’s Data and Activism project. The book is a collection of playful exercises for organisers within civil society who work with the personal data of human rights defenders, investigators, campaigners, and others who are taking part in social or political action.

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Activism on Social Media: A Curated Guide

There has been a lot of resources written on safer use of digital technologies and social media platforms for CSOs, grassroots groups, activists and politically-active individuals. Here we present a curated list of resources, a pool of links that can help you respond to existing risks and threats.

Data Baggage, Travel and Activism

At every stage, travelling means giving away an immense amount of data that is either required by governments or by companies that provide travel-related services, or that can be automatically generated in the background. This article gives insight into the data you give away when travelling.

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Adventures in Mapping Digital Empires

For years, Tactical Tech has worked to understand and visualise Big Tech's impact on society. In this piece, you will be taken on a journey through the different formats, narratives and visual representations Tactical Tech has used to tell the story behind the acquisitions, mergers and investments of the Big Tech Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Read to learn about our provocation design approach to promote digital thinking.

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[Our partners] Interview with Clement Njoroge, Founder and Director - MediaNet Works.

Tactical Tech interviewed Clement Njoroge, Founder and Director of MediaNet Works, an initiative that empowers communities, especially the younger generation so that they can reap the benefits of the Internet and the general ICTs available to them. Media Net is working to incorporate marginalised groups by building relationships and learning how technology is used in the communities now and how it could be used in their lives.

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The GAFAM Empire project

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[Our partners] Interview with Soledad Magnone, Director of the JAAKLAC iniciativa

Tactical Tech interviewed Soledad Magnone, director of the JAAKLAC, an initiative that, through collaborative projects, designs and researches the possibilities of Critical Digital Education (CDE), which nurtures individuals’ understanding of how technologies affect societies and the environment and promotes collective action to manifest fairer digital societies.

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Co-Creating a Public Education Intervention: A Contextual Analysis

This series outlines the initiation, delivery, and findings of the What the Future Wants project (so far) in the hope that other organisations, initiatives, and individuals working with young people can learn from our experience and the rich insights of all of the young people who contributed.

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New Report: Digital Reset. Redirecting Technologies for the Deep Sustainability Transformation.

The “Digital Reset” report by the project ‘Digitalization for Sustainability – Science in Dialogue’ (D4S) shows how digital technologies can support the quest for such a deep sustainability transformation. The report provides a blueprint for the European Union to reconceptualise digitalisation so that it first and foremost contributes to achieving carbon neutrality, resource autonomy and economic resilience while supporting equity and fully respecting citizens’ rights and privacy.

Open call for a Safeguarding Expert - What the Future Wants

The What the Future Wants project is looking for a Safeguarding Expert with experience working with young people (11-18 years old),  for a limited-duration consultancy. The Safeguarding Expert will conduct a training session for Tactical Tech staff and partners and draft written guidelines for safeguarding practices to be implemented when working with young people worldwide.

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Annual Report 2021: Building a sustainable digital future

In 2021, Tactical Tech worked to empower organisations worldwide to build a sustainable digital future. The main focuses of our projects and initiatives were changing the conversation, expanding knowledge, advancing skills, and reaching new audiences. This report highlights the key results of 2021.

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[Job opportunity] Grants and Fundraising Coordinator

We are looking for an engaged Grants and Fundraising Coordinator with strong organisational and interpersonal skills, committed to a non-profit cause to coordinate grant management, ensuring adherence to contracted work plans and log-frames across grants.

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Verify a Photo's Origins

Building on content from our Digital Enquirer Kit, learn how to conduct a reverse image search to verify a photo’s origins on the internet in this Data Detox Kit article!

Is What You See Really What You Get?

How can you be sure that what you see on apps like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and WhatsApp is reliable? Explore visual information with a new guide from our Data Detox Kit, adapted from the Digital Enquirer Kit!

Development Administrator

Tactical Tech is looking for a committed and engaged person interested in learning and growing while using their professional skills within our Development team. Apply by January 16th!

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Unboxing Tech Toolkit

What are the persuasive design and 'dark patterns' that keep us hooked to our phones? The Unboxing Tech Toolkit, developed by the Pranava Institute alongside young people in India, is a youth workbook about how technology can tune our behavior, emotions and attention, and importantly, what can be done about it.

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The Glass Room: Capsule 2.0

The Glass Room presents Capsule 2.0, 'Nothing Personal?', our latest showcase of digital objects, both old and new. This second capsule explores how technologies are designed, branded and engineered to collect deeply personal data and influence our real-time behaviours.

Digital Enquirer Kit

The first two modules of our Digital Enquirer Kit, tackling the theme of misinformation, are now available on the free Atingi platform, with more modules and translations coming soon. Sign up now!

Call for Internship: Project Assistant

Tactical Tech is offering an internship position for a student or a junior professional to assist The Glass Room project in preparing materials and supporting partners globally in organising events for their communities.

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Time for Big Tech to Grow Up

Our Executive Director and co-founder Stephanie Hankey responds to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony and argues that, when it comes to social media and young people: "it's Big Tech that needs to grow up".

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The Glass Room - Netherlands

From the tech boom to tech backlash, our understanding of the digital has become both deeply personal and deeply political. Two major Glass Room exhibitions tackling these themes are taking place in The Netherlands, in Leeuwarden and Amsterdam.

Investigation is Collaboration: How to Make It Work

Never investigate alone. Collaboration is essential to your safety, well-being and effectiveness as an investigator, no matter the context. This guide from Exposing the Invisible: The Kit will help you plan, organise and run your collaboration with investigators, sources and others.

Annual Report 2020

In our Annual Report 2020, you can read about our activities and successes across each of our projects last year, as well as who we are as an organisation and how we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call for a Podcast Producer

Our Exposing the Invisible project is looking for a short-term podcast producer to help create a series of brief, inspiring and informative podcasts.

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Campaign Apps Ghana 2020

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The Glass Room: Capsule 1.0

The Glass Room presents Capsule 1.0, a quarterly showcase of digital objects - old and new - from previous Community Edition series, independent investigations and collaborations. This first capsule explores how our phone numbers, face prints and personal data travel from our smartphones to different third-party organisations.

Why Investigate Election Apps?

The second in this series of articles on Medium from our Data & Politics project looks at how the 'appification' of nearly every aspect of our lives has spread to politics, elections and issue campaigning.

Data Acquisition for Beginners

Finding and gathering information is essential to any investigation, but not all data sets are created equal. This new chapter of Exposing the Invisible: The Kit includes descriptions of common file types, methods for gathering data, and a how-to guide on converting your data into a format more easily analysed by computer programs.

Consultancy Call: Researcher/Writer on Digital Investigation Techniques

We are looking for experienced Researchers/Writers with a strong understanding of digital investigative techniques, to help create written learning materials to train journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society on leading investigations, particularly in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA, and Southeast Asia.

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Lessons To Learn: Young People And AI

What do young people need to know about artificial intelligence (AI) in order to use it responsibly and make informed decisions? Our co-founder Stephanie Hankey spoke to the Goethe-Institut about the need for educational institutions and civil society to join forces to promote digital literacy.

Transparency in Data-Driven Campaigns

Tactical Tech’s Data & Politics Team is excited to announce that the Swedish Postcode Foundation will support our latest initiative to create transparency on the use of personal data in political campaigns and the surrounding influence industry.

Refresh and Renew

When you Google your name, you'll likely find a whole range of digital traces: do you want the world to find everything you've ever put online? A new Data Detox Kit article explains how to curate your online identity and accounts.

A Data-Day

Check out this updated visualisation of the data you give away when you click 'I Agree', with key phrases from the terms and conditions of popular apps and services.

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Reflections on the European Democracy Action Plan

If Europe’s elections are to remain contests of campaigns’ political ideas and not of their digital strategies, the systemic challenges to democracy must not be overlooked by the fires of the present moment. Varoon Bashyakarla from our Data & Politics team writes for the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.

Data & Politics: Global Partnerships

In order to investigate the 'Influence Industry' in different contexts and countries, our Data & Politics project has partnered with a diverse range of organisations and individuals in the Global South. Find out more about the work these partners do.

Evaluating Evidence and Information Sources

You’ve identified and collected information that may serve as evidence in your investigation. What next? Learn how to analyse and verify it as well as how to evaluate your information sources in this new chapter from Exposing the Invisible: The Kit.

Skin Deep: Deep Fakes and Misinformation

Misinformation and disinformation have dominated headlines in 2020 and eroded trust in the information that surrounds us, from social media to conventional media; from politicians to scientists; from text to photographs to videos. Reality, it seems, is increasingly only skin deep. Find out more in this article on Medium.