EU data protection
fromPrivacy International
1 day agoVoter Disenfranchisement: A Privacy Issue
Democratic institutions face challenges in privacy protection and voter disenfranchisement during elections, exacerbated by technology and data usage.
In 2024 alone, authorities imposed 304 internet shutdowns across 54 countries - the highest number ever recorded. This reflects a growing trend of governments treating connectivity as a weapon.
On the morning of the Unite the Right rally, I lumbered down the staircase of a Catskills Airbnb rented for a bachelor party to learn that only hours before, a gang of white nationalists stormed the University of Virginia campus wielding Tiki torches and chanting, 'Jews will not replace us.'
Analilia Mejia's win with a nearly 20-point margin over Hathaway is significant, indicating strong voter support for Democrats in the current political climate.
The air feels heavier. And the struggles are changing shape. Beyond my office walls, the world is shifting, and my clients sense the tremors. The things they once trusted, global order, democratic norms, and even their own personal safety, no longer feel solid. They feel brittle, as if one strong wind could bring it all down. And what they're sensing isn't imagined.
Many young Bangladeshis who voted for the first time described the election as historic, but falling short of their expectations. As Generation Z, we didn't get the expected representation and results after shedding so much blood and losing lives, student Afsana Hossain Himi told Al Jazeera. Still, we are very hopeful. We have representatives from the younger generation, and we hope they will do something good, she said, referring to the six NCP winners.
Charlie Warzel opens with what it means to live in 2026, when our phones can drop us into graphic, real-time violence without warning-and when documenting that violence can be both traumatizing and politically consequential. Using recent footage out of Minneapolis as a lens, he explores the uneasy collision of algorithmic feeds, misinformation, and the moral weight of witnessing. Charlie also traces how viral documentation can puncture official narratives, pushing stories beyond political circles and even into "apolitical" corners of the internet.
Lawmakers described routine death threats, armed protesters in galleries, and explicit fears for spouses and children. Several said the June 2025 assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband fundamentally changed how they assess the risks of staying in office. Case in point: Connecticut State Rep. Corey Paris, 34, reported death threats and calls for violence against him and his family last year after he posted on social media encouraging people to share information on ICE activity.
My local Target was the first place I noticed the shift. One day, a few years ago, a sign appeared: red text on white paper announcing that no one under 18 would be allowed in without an adult. Before the poster, every weekday afternoon, clots of teens would move through the arteries of the store, occasionally blocking them. The kids would laugh among themselves, swatch makeup on their arms, peruse the candy offerings.