<div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Dear All,</font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">On behalf of DRF, I wish you all a very happy new year. </font><font color="#000000">DRF concluded 2016 with two pilot research studies: the first deals with the state of privacy policies of the major telecoms that are operating in Pakistan; the second study tackles the gendered surveillance faced by female journalists in Pakistan, and the impact it has on their professional and personal lives.</font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The first study, <b><a href="http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/telecomsresearch2016/" target="_blank">Telecoms Privacy & Data Protection Policies in Pakistan</a></b>, looks at the extent to which the privacy policies of the major telecoms in Pakistan protect and inform their customers, and where they let them down. We examine the positive and the areas which are sorely lacking. Some did better than expected, and some disappointed, given the work of their parent company/ies. DRF utilised methodology inspired by Ranking Digital Rights and their Corporate Accountability Index project.</font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">None came out with 100%, however, and one telecom company Zong has already reached out to us after release of the study. We hope that telecoms pay attention and work to develop privacy policies that respect their users, and instills greater confidence, assuring customers that their mobile service providers are able to convey that they are indeed doing their best to protect their data. This is especially important in not only the passage of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, which could have significant ramifications for telecoms customers, but in the absence of explicit data protection legislation in Pakistan.</font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/femalejournalistsresearch/" target="_blank">Surveillance of Female Journalists in Pakistan</a> </b>examines the <span style="letter-spacing:0.01rem;text-align:justify">experiences of female journalists and the forms of surveillance that they face in the course of their work, and </span></font><span style="letter-spacing:0.01rem;text-align:justify;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">the toll surveillance can take on their professional and personal lives, </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px;letter-spacing:0.01rem;text-align:justify">it bleeds over into their personal lives. The research looks at the gendered forms - and different sources of - surveillance, including the state, audience members and political groups. The female journalists interviewed for the study spoke to DRF ab</span><span style="letter-spacing:0.01rem;text-align:justify;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">out the surveillance that they found themselves under not just by state authorities, but also the constant social surveillance in the form of abuse on social media - largely directed at their gender and appearance, rather than their work. In addition to mapping the forms of surveillance faced by female journalists, the report also explored the impact that this constant monitoring has, in terms of the psychological toll, self-censorship and retreat from digital spaces. </span></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><span style="letter-spacing:0.01rem;text-align:justify"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></span></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><p style="font-size:12.8px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 32px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:0.01rem;word-wrap:break-word"><font color="#000000" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">This research study aims to add to the conversation around free speech, freedom of the press, surveillance and gender. DRF also aims to mainstream the idea of social surveillance as part of the definition of surveillance - where surveillance is not only carried out by the state, but also by social non-state actors. It is hoped that this study will highlight the gendered experience of female journalists and the specific problems they have to face. </font></p>Media Coverage: Pakistani telecoms' murky policies put users' privacy at risk: report <span style="font-size:12.8px;letter-spacing:0.16px"><a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/1305364/pakistani-telecoms-murky-policies-put-users-privacy-at-risk-report" target="_blank">www.dawn.com/news/13053<wbr>64/pakistani-telecoms-murky-<wbr>policies-put-users-privacy-at-<wbr>risk-report</a></span></div><div style="font-size:12.8px">Study finds telecom firms’ privacy, data protection policies inadequate <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/1305503" target="_blank">http://www.dawn.<wbr>com/news/1305503</a></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><a href="http://nation.com.pk/national/31-Dec-2016/drf-releases-research-study-on-surveillance-of-female-journalists" target="_blank">http://nation.com.pk/national/<wbr>31-Dec-2016/drf-releases-resea<wbr>rch-study-on-surveillance-of-<wbr>female-journalists</a>                        <br></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div><a href="http://nation.com.pk/national/31-Dec-2016/research-study-on-surveillance-of-female-journalists-in-pakistan" target="_blank">http://nation.com.pk/national/<wbr>31-Dec-2016/research-study-on-<wbr>surveillance-of-female-journal<wbr>ists-in-pakistan</a>                        </div><div><a href="http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/12/31/pakistani-telecoms-murky-policies-put-users-privacy-at-risk-report/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistantoday.com.p<wbr>k/2016/12/31/pakistani-telecom<wbr>s-murky-policies-put-users-<wbr>privacy-at-risk-report/</a>                        </div><div> <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/1305891/female-journalists-face-gendered-forms-of-surveillance-study-finds" target="_blank">http://www.dawn.com/news/1305<wbr>891/female-journalists-face-<wbr>gendered-forms-of-surveillance<wbr>-study-finds</a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="gmail-m_8012637433889058580gmail-m_495093335899050231gmail_signature" style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:12.8px">Best,<br>Nighat Dad<br>Executive Director,<br><a href="http://www.digitalrightsfoundation.pk/" target="_blank">Digital Rights Foundation</a><br>Key ID: 386F2A5F<br></div><div class="gmail-m_8012637433889058580gmail-m_495093335899050231gmail_signature" style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:12.8px"><span style="color:rgb(35,35,35);font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Finger Print: 73C2 8F10 60D4 6553 0BFA D174 8AA1 226F 386F 2A5F</span></div><div class="gmail-m_8012637433889058580gmail-m_495093335899050231gmail_signature" style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:12.8px">Twitter: nighatdad<br>Phone: <a href="tel:+92%20321%204815252" value="+923214815252" target="_blank">+92 321 4815252</a></div></div></div><input name="virtru-metadata" type="hidden" value="{"email-policy":{"state":"closed","expirationUnit":"days","disableCopyPaste":false,"disablePrint":false,"disableForwarding":false,"expires":false,"isManaged":false},"attachments":{}}"></div>