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thedecenter.bsky.social
De|Center
@thedecenter.bsky.social
160 followers 210 following 95 posts
New home of #DesignFromTheMargins methodology. We transform tech & advocate for #TechAccountability to advance justice & human rights.

New to socials, not the work.
Website: www.de-center.net
Newsletter: https://the-decenter.ghost.io
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thedecenter.bsky.social
De|Center @thedecenter.bsky.social · 27d
If corrupt authorities derive power through generalizing masses of people into faceless mobs, then the antidote is to continue to give them voices, faces, lived experiences. #decenter #designfromthemargins 🔐
The year ahead: How decentered stories can counter tyranny
Normalization and numbness are inevitable when those in power nudge the needle of morality each week, writes Roja, our communications director. But we have lived through this before, and the decentere...
the-decenter.ghost.io
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aclu.org
ICE and CBP agents are out of control and put everyone in danger.

We're calling for ICE agents to withdraw from Minneapolis, and for Congress to rein in ICE’s abuses in our communities.
Black graphic with text "ICE out of Minneapolis NOW"
January 24, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by De|Center
accessnow.org
VPN users in Jammu & Kashmir face a 2-month ban.

Raman Jit Singh Chima, our Senior International Counsel & Asia Pacific Policy Director, warns: "Law enforcement is trying to push everyday people from not using VPNs, and that's alarming."

Read ⬇️

www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-priv...
VPN users under siege in Jammu and Kashmir as authorities issue a 2-month ban – here's what we know
Digital rights experts say the order is illegal
www.techradar.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM
thedecenter.bsky.social
We’re proud to have contributed to this work. HRW has worked tirelessly to verify digital evidence of mass killings in Iran.

“Thousands of protesters and bystanders are believed to have been killed, while severe communication restrictions conceal the true scale of atrocities.”
hrw.org Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 9d
Iran’s security forces have carried out mass killings after protests escalated on January 8.

Despite a nationwide internet shutdown, Human Rights Watch has been able to verify videos and gather witness accounts.

Read now: https://bit.ly/3YIRtW0
January 16, 2026 at 10:09 PM
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eff.org
ICE is using a Palantir tool that uses Medicaid and other government data to stalk people for arrest, 404 Media reports. This is exactly the kind of data privacy abuse that EFF has been warning about.
Report: ICE Using Palantir Tool That Feeds On Medicaid Data
ICE is using a Palantir tool that uses Medicaid and other government data to stalk people for arrest. This is exactly the kind of data privacy abuse that EFF has been warning about.
www.eff.org
January 16, 2026 at 1:05 AM
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eff.org
Congress says it wants to empower parents online. But the Kids Off Social Media Act would do the opposite—by forcing Big Tech to decide how families use the internet.
Congress Wants To Hand Your Parenting to Big Tech
Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. The Senate Commerce Committee hel...
www.eff.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:30 PM
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eff.org
There’s never been a better time to learn what’s at stake and how to protect yourself from invasive age verification mandates. Head over to EFF.org/Age to explore our explainers, user-friendly guides, technical breakdowns, and advocacy tools. The fight to protect the internet begins with you.
Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub
Age verification (or age-gating) laws generally require online services to check, estimate, or verify all users’ ages—often through invasive tools like ID checks, biometric scans, or other dubious
www.eff.org
January 1, 2026 at 4:00 PM
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thedecenter.bsky.social
In 2026, we aim to feature profiles of the people interviewed for our reports alongside the academic rigor of the research. From those incarcerated in the US and El Salvador, to queer and migrant rights advocates in Tunisia, and survivors of genocides in Sudan and Palestine.
December 29, 2025 at 6:37 PM
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thedecenter.bsky.social
🚨 Do not hand your unlocked phone to law enforcement 🚨

Normalising the surrender of unlocked devices — esp at borders — is a dangerous precedent Apple is fore-fronting. Pushing an unlocked phone as standard-issue ID &commercialising #surveillance under the guise of “convenience”
#privacy #digitalID
November 13, 2025 at 1:14 PM
thedecenter.bsky.social
If corrupt authorities derive power through generalizing masses of people into faceless mobs, then the antidote is to continue to give them voices, faces, lived experiences. #decenter #designfromthemargins 🔐
The year ahead: How decentered stories can counter tyranny
Normalization and numbness are inevitable when those in power nudge the needle of morality each week, writes Roja, our communications director. But we have lived through this before, and the decentere...
the-decenter.ghost.io
December 29, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by De|Center
timcarvell.bsky.social
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
m.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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philippedam.bsky.social
Hey @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @eudiplomacy.bsky.social - Do you notice #Tunisia 's fall in authoritarianism, with 0 reaction from your side? Is a more repressive country in #EU's interest?

Speechless Europe has for sure no leverage.

www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20...

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...
Trial of NGO workers accused of assisting 'illegal' migration opens in Tunisia
Aid workers accused of assisting irregular migration to Tunisia went on trial on Monday, as Amnesty International criticised what it called "the relentless criminalisation of civil society" in the cou...
www.rfi.fr
December 16, 2025 at 8:52 AM
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eff.org
AMA Alert! We launched EFF.org/Age, our Age Verification Resource hub, and want to talk to you about it. We’ll be on Reddit's r/privacy today, on 12/16, and on 12/17 to help you resist this censorship and surveillance nightmare. www.reddit.com/r/privacy/c...
From the privacy community on Reddit: We’re EFF and we’re fighting to defend your privacy from the global onslaught of invasive age verification mandates. Ask us anything!
Explore this post and more from the privacy community
www.reddit.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:18 PM
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takebackthetech.bsky.social
Digital surveillance in Kashmir acts as a character certificate — based on social media activities, journalism or human rights work, making its way into the files of the CID.

For women, the consequences (& harassment) are gendered. Read on GenderITorg: genderit.org/feminist-tal...

@apc.org #16Days
Image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: “Security officials treat people of my gender as if it’s a weak spot to shut us down”. How gender is weaponised against Women Human Rights Defenders in Kashmir Image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: For women human rights defenders in Kashmir, technologies of war—particularly digital surveillance—have been re-engineered to operate as intimate tools of intimidation. Not only are their public actions monitored, but their private lives are dissected under the state’s algorithmic gaze. Partial image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: Security officials use journalists’ digital presence to dissect private lives, from everyday movements to information on their families, during summons. This often means endangering sources or personal privacy. Partial image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: Women journalists are especially forced to keep their profile low because the intimidation uses their gender identity to silence them. This post has been adapted from a collection on militarisation and technology by Safety For Voices.
November 26, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by De|Center
eff.org
Mobile Fortify, ICE's face recognition app, threatens the rights of both migrants and U.S. citizens. DHS should shut it down, privacy and civil liberties organizations write.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Rights Organizations Demand Halt to Mobile Fortify, ICE's Handheld
Mobile Fortify, the new app used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use face recognition technology (FRT) to identify people during street encounters, is an affront to the rights and
www.eff.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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aljazeera.com
BREAKING: The death toll in Gaza since the October 10 ceasefire began has risen to 318 Palestinians after seven more bodies were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 48 hours.

🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/7gsnkj
November 22, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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fightforthefuture.org
How exactly does a kids online safety bill threaten queer and trans culture on the internet? Harvard Cyberlaw expert @esqueer.net breaks it down.

#KOSA #Censorship #Boston

@warren.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 6:02 PM
thedecenter.bsky.social
#TransDayofRemembrance
Incredibly important thread remembering some of the trans siblings whose lives were taken from us in 2024.

Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living ✊🏽
#TDOR #Translivesmatter
heatherpaterson.co.uk Heather Paterson @heatherpaterson.co.uk · Nov 20
Today is Trans Day Of Remembrance

#TransLivesMatter #TDoR #TDoR2025 #TransDayOfRemembrance #TransAwarenessWeek #SayTheirNames

*** Trigger warning for the following thread: Violence against trans people (especially TWOC) * * *
MOURN THE DEAD, FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE THIS IS WHY WE'RE SO FUCKING ANGRY
November 20, 2025 at 10:43 PM
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fiercemum.bsky.social
Harming trans kids - using art to capture the impacts of the Sussex ICB investigation on trans adolescents and families.

Please read and share.

The art is not mine - the artist wishes to remain anonymous.

growinguptransgender.com/2025/11/19/h...
Harming trans kids – Using art to capture the impacts of the Sussex ICB investigation
When puberty blockers were banned in June 2024, the legislation included a clause stating that those currently on blockers would not be medically detransitioned, and could continue care if adopted …
growinguptransgender.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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prismreports.org
“Many of us are really scared, but we’re still showing up.”

Nov. 16 was “the day the most immigrants were arrested in a single day” in North Carolina's history. As immigration raids are expected to escalate, locals are mobilizing to protect their neighbors @tinavasquez.bsky.social reports.
North Carolina immigration raids expected to escalate
As the impacts of the raids quickly ripple outward from Charlotte, North Carolinians are mobilizing to stem enforcement operations in their communities
prismreports.org
November 19, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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davidakaye.bsky.social
just say it, reporters, it's not hard: '...the trump administration's open threats to use military force against a state that has not attacked it are widely seen by experts as illegal under international law...' there is very little to debate about that.
November 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
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melissa-sanchez.bsky.social
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.

We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.

www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
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thedecenter.bsky.social
Current situation in Sudan continues to be catastrophic. The #queer community in #Sudan face multi-layer harms.

A dedication from one of the Sudanese researchers from our 2024 report found here: www.article19.org/queer-resist...
A note from a Sudanese researcher on a De|Center report. It reads “To the queer community in Sudan: your struggle is a beacon of hope and a testament to the indomitable human spirit. This research is dedicated to your courage, your stories, and your dreams. Together, we forge ahead, unwavering in our commitment to dismantle the edifice of repression. Your fight is the harbinger of change, a promise of a future where freedom is not just an aspiration but a reality for all. In working on this project, I find myself ensnared by a tumult of emotions, fueled by the adrenaline rush of the transformative 2019 revolution, which carved out new spaces and hard-won freedoms long sought by queer communities. Yet, this progress is shadowed by the devastating war of 2023, which shattered the hopes and aspirations of these individuals. The political turmoil in Sudan has further marginalized already vulnerable groups, intensifying their isolation. The war cannot be viewed as an isolated occurrence, detached from the historical and cultural disdain for queer identities in Sudan. Instead, these events serve as stark reminders that queer individuals are integral to the societal weave, subjected to the same tribulations as the society at large. Queer communities have historically demonstrated resilience and resistance, forging safe havens both in digital realms and in physical spaces. However, they face unabated opposition and dangers. These reports serve as a bedrock for devising strategies geared towards advocacy, support, and empowerment, specifically tailored for the queer community in the MENA region, embodying the spirit of transnational solidarity and collaboration. By casting a spotlight on the resilience and ingenuity of queer individuals in confronting challenges across both digital and physical spaces, this research emphasizes the critical need for unified action”
January 25, 2025 at 2:27 AM
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cooperq.com
and design them to be used by the most at risk people in society, it will make your app better for everyone including those who need it the most without singling them out. Afsaneh Rigot talks about this in her excellent paper "Design from the Margins" (2/2) www.de-center.net/what-is-desi...
What is Design from the Margins? | — The De|Center
Design From the Margins (DFM) is a design methodology for more just, equitable, safer tech that centers the most impacted and decentered users, from ideation to production. DFM is grounded in the know...
www.de-center.net
September 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
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zeteo.com
“We're seeing a level of proliferation of bodies & body piles from space that's unlike anything I've ever seen…”

Human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond explains how more people could be killed within a week in Sudan, compared to the past two years in Gaza.

🔗 zeteo.com/p/sudans-dea...
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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jennmjacksonphd.bsky.social
Keep talking about Sudan.
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM