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	Accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems by Amnesty International, agencies   13 Jan. 2026   Malaysia and Indonesia block Elon Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images. (agencies)   Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, as concerns grow among authorities that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.   There is growing scrutiny of generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text, and concern that existing safeguards are failing to prevent their abuse.   The Grok chatbot, accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children.   “The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement.   Scrutiny of Grok is growing, including in the European Union, India, France and the United Kingdom, which said Monday it was moving to criminalize “nudification apps.”   Britain’s media regulator also launched an investigation into whether Grok broke the law by allowing users to share sexualized images of children.   Regulators in the two Southeast Asian nations said existing controls weren’t preventing the creation and spread of fake pornographic content, particularly involving women and children. Indonesia’s government blocked access to Grok on Saturday, followed by Malaysia on Sunday.   Initial findings showed Grok lacks effective safeguards to stop users from creating and distributing pornographic content based on real photos of Indonesian residents, Alexander Sabar, director-general of digital space supervision, said in a statement. He said such practices risk violating privacy and image rights when photos are manipulated or shared without consent.   The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission noted “repeated misuse” of the tool to generate obscene, sexually explicit and nonconsensual manipulated images, including content involving women and children.   The regulator said notices were issued this month to X Corp. and xAI demanding stronger safeguards. “The restriction is imposed as a preventive and proportionate measure while legal and regulatory processes are ongoing,” it said, adding that access will remain blocked until effective safeguards are put in place.   The U.K.'s media regulator said it launched an investigation into whether Grok violated its duty to protect people from illegal content. The regulator, Ofcom, said Grok-generated images of children being sexualized or people being undressed may amount to pornography or child sexual abuse material.   http://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/21/elon-musk-donald-trump-social-media-laws-column-00738440 http://www.dw.com/en/eu-opens-probe-into-musks-grok-chatbot/a-75663255   * UN Bodies issue Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of the Child: http://tinyurl.com/yp9nndha   States should strengthen AI governance frameworks to uphold and protect children’s rights. Global organisations are urged to integrate children’s rights across all AI-related policies and strategies. Governments and companies must ensure AI systems are transparent, accountable and designed to protect children. States must prevent and address violence and exploitation of children enabled or amplified by AI.   Stronger, child-centred data protection measures are needed to safeguard privacy within AI systems. AI-driven decisions should prioritise the best interests and holistic development of every child. Inclusive, bias-free AI is essential to ensure all children benefit. Children’s views and experiences should meaningfully inform AI policymaking and system design. AI development should support environmental sustainability while minimising long-term ecological harm to future generations.   * UN Agencies include United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children; United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children; United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).   Dec. 2025   Accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems. (Amnesty International)   With the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making systems (ADMs) that impact our everyday lives, it is crucial that rights defenders, activists and communities are equipped to shed light on the serious implications these systems have on our human rights, Amnesty International said ahead of the launch of its Algorithmic Accountability toolkit.   The toolkit draws on Amnesty International’s investigations, campaigns, media and advocacy in Denmark, Sweden, Serbia, France, India, United Kingdom, Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the United States and the Netherlands. It provides a ‘how to’ guide for investigating, uncovering and seeking accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems that are becoming increasingly embedded in our everyday lives specifically in the public sector realms of welfare, policing, healthcare, and education.   Regardless of the jurisdiction in which these technologies are deployed, a common outcome from their rollout is not “efficiency” or “improving” societies—as many government officials and corporations claim—but rather bias, exclusion and human rights abuses.   “The toolkit is designed for anyone looking to investigate or challenge the use of algorithmic and AI systems in the public sector, including civil society organizations (CSOs), journalists, impacted people or community organizations. It is designed to be adaptable and versatile to multiple settings and contexts.   “Building our collective power to investigate and seek accountability for harmful AI systems is crucial to challenging abusive practices by states and companies and meeting this current moment of supercharged investments in AI. Given how these systems can enable mass surveillance, undermine our right to social protection, restrict our freedom to peaceful protest and perpetuate exclusion, discrimination and bias across society,” said Damini Satija, Programme Director at Amnesty Tech.   The toolkit introduces a multi-pronged approach based on the learnings of Amnesty International’s investigations in this area over the last three years, as well as learnings from collaborations with key partners. This approach not only provides tools and practical templates to research these opaque systems and their resulting human rights violations, but it also lays out comprehensive tactics for those working to end these abusive systems by seeking change and accountability via campaigning, strategic communications, advocacy or strategic litigation.   One of the many case studies the toolkit draws on is Amnesty International’s investigation into Denmark’s welfare system, exposing how the Danish welfare authority Udbetaling Danmark (UDK)’s AI-powered welfare system fuels mass surveillance and risks discriminating against people with disabilities, low-income individuals, migrants, refugees, and marginalized racial groups through its use of AI tools to flag individuals for social benefits fraud investigations.   The investigation could not have been possible without the collaboration with impacted communities, journalists and local civil society organisations and in that spirit, the toolkit is premised on deep collaboration between different disciplinary groups.   The toolkit situates human rights law as a critically valuable component of algorithmic accountability work, especially given this is a gap in the ethical and responsible AI fields and audit methods’.   Amnesty International’s method ultimately emphasises collaborative work, while harnessing the collective influence of a multi-method approach. Communities and their agency to drive accountability remains at the heart of the process.   “This issue is even more urgent today, given rampant unchecked claims and experimentation around the supposed benefits of using AI in public service delivery. State actors are backing enormous investments in AI development and infrastructure and giving corporations a free hand to pursue their lucrative interests, regardless of the human rights impacts now and further down the line,” said Damini Satija.   “Through this toolkit, we aim to democratize knowledge and enable civil society organizations, investigators, journalists, and impacted individuals to uncover these systems and the industries that produce them, demand accountability, and bring an end to the abuses enabled by these technologies.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2025/12/algorithmic-accountability-toolkit/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/12/global-amnesty-international-launches-an-algorithmic-accountability-toolkit-to-enable-investigators-rights-defenders-and-activists-to-hold-powerfu/ http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/regulation-is-crucial-for-responsible-ai http://thebulletin.org/the-ai-power-trip/ http://www.openglobalrights.org/will-human-rights-guide-technological-development/ http://www.business-humanrights.org/en/blog/why-regulation-is-essential-to-tame-techs-rush-for-ai/ http://safe.ai/ai-risk http://ai-frontiers.org/articles/the-evidence-for-ai-consciousness-today http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/29/gas-power-ai-climate http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/enabled-emissions-how-ai-helps-to-supercharge-oil-and-gas-production/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/ai-chatbots-share-climate-disinformation-to-susceptible-users/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/procurement-and-deployment-artificial-intelligence-must-be-aligned-human http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/civicspace/resources/brief-data-privacy-ai-report-rev.pdf http://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/10/how-china-views-ai-risks-and-what-to-do-about-them http://futureoflife.org/ai-safety-index-winter-2025/ http://pwd.org.au/disability-representative-organisations-call-for-transparency-on-computer-generated-ndis-plans/ http://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/acoss-statement-on-the-robodebt-settlement/ http://theconversation.com/people-are-getting-their-news-from-ai-and-its-altering-their-views-269354 http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/6/391 http://icct.nl/publication/reading-between-lines-importance-human-moderators-online-implicit-extremist-content http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/09/unga80-lies-spread-faster-than-facts/   http://www.citizen.org/news/bipartisan-group-of-state-lawmakers-condemn-federal-ai-preemption-efforts/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/12/16/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-ai-accountability-laws http://www.citizen.org/news/trump-grants-his-greedy-big-tech-buddies-christmas-wish-with-dangerous-ai-preemption-eo/ http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/has-technology-outpaced-human-rights-frameworks http://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/1/empire_of_ai_karen_hao_on http://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/technology/ai-slop-sora-social-media.html http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/the-rise-of-the-tech-oligarchy/ http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/rise-of-the-tech-oligarchy-part-ii/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/08/amnesty-launches-breaking-up-with-big-tech-briefing/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/POL30/0226/2025/en/ http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02371-1 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02623-0 Visit the related web page
	Civic freedoms are the backbone of good governance and inclusive democracy by CIVICUS, agencies   Dec. 2025   People Power Under Attack 2025 (CIVICUS)   The world has witnessed a dramatic rollback in fundamental freedoms, including speech, peaceful assembly and association, over the past five years, according to the latest ratings report from the CIVICUS Monitor.   The report, People Power Under Attack 2025, finds that people in 83 countries and territories now live with their freedoms routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020, with stark declines both in states considered democracies and those governed by authoritarian regimes. The proportion of people living in countries with ‘Open’ or ‘Narrowed’ civic space, fell from nearly 13% in 2020 to just over 7% today.   “We see a continued trend of attacks on people’s right to speak up, come together as a collective, and protest for their rights around the world. This year’s slide is led by states often seen as models of democracy such as the USA, France, and Italy. In a context of rising authoritarianism and populism, no country seems immune from this deeply worrying trend,” said CIVICUS Secretary General Mandeep Tiwana.   “Civic freedoms are the backbone of good governance and inclusive democracy, but fewer and fewer governments are willing to respect the agency of their people to freely and meaningfully participate in public life.”   This year alone, 15 countries saw their ratings downgraded. Among the most concerning changes is the decline in the United States, which moved to the third tier rating ‘Obstructed’ following sweeping executive orders, militarised responses to protests and mounting attacks on press freedom.   European Union Member States, France, Germany and Italy were also all downgraded to ‘Obstructed’, reflecting a hardening stance on dissent, including the adoption of restrictive laws and practices to limit pro-Palestinian and environmental protests. Israel’s civic space fell even further to ‘Repressed’ as authorities eroded judicial independence, assaulted protesters, targeted and deported Palestinian citizens of Israel, and banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from operating in Israel, all amid the genocide in Gaza. Civic space in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is already rated ‘Closed’ following years of Israeli control.   In the Americas, El Salvador moved to ‘Repressed’ as President Bukele consolidated power, introduced a foreign agents law targeting the media and civil society, and further dismantled institutional checks and balances.   In Africa, Sudan now joins the list of worst offenders in the ‘Closed’ category where civic space is practically non-existent, following more than two years of devastating civil war that has allowed the parties to the conflict to crush the space for civil society and media across the country. Burundi also fell to ‘Closed,’ while Madagascar dropped to ‘Repressed’ following deadly crackdowns on sustained youth-led protests, eventually leading to the military takeover in October 2025.   “While each downgrade reflects the sum of particular incidents in a country or territory, together they show clearly that across the world, civic space is under sustained attack by governments and anti-rights actors,” said CIVICUS Monitor Head Ine Van Severen.   The report documents the most common violations of civic freedoms in 2025. Detention of protesters is the top violation, documented in at least 76 countries, with half of those documented in Africa South of the Sahara. Journalists are frequently detained under restrictive laws, including cybercrimes laws and in some countries vague security or anti-terrorism laws, while judicial harassment of activists is also widely documented.   “The detention of protesters and activists has become the preferred method of governments to silence those who dissent or publicly disagree with the authorities,” said Ine Van Severen. “Authorities must stop detaining people and breaking up protests, and instead start listening to and engaging with people’s demands.”   Despite these troubling trends, the report highlights some positive developments. Chile advanced protections for environmental defenders through landmark legislation, while Senegal and Gabon improved their ratings following political transitions and legal reforms.   Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, an interim government released protesters and activists from prison, many of whom were persecuted under the regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. These examples show that progress is possible when governments engage constructively with civil society and uphold international human rights standards.   “We are witnessing a global emergency for civic freedoms. Even with some encouraging steps in places like Chile, Senegal, and Gabon, these remain exceptions to a deeply troubling global trend. Governments must act decisively: dismantle restrictive policies, end arbitrary detentions, and guarantee the right to protest. Failure to do so will risk eroding the legitimacy that underpins their authority,” said Tiwana.   * The CIVICUS Monitor is a global research platform that assesses the state of civic freedoms—including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly—across 198 countries and territories. Each country is assigned a score from 0 to 100, reflecting the openness of its civic space, with higher scores indicating greater respect for civic freedoms. Based on these scores, countries are classified into five categories: Open, Narrowed, Obstructed, Repressed, or Closed.   http://monitor.civicus.org/globalfindings_2025 http://publications.civicus.org/publications/2025-state-of-civil-society-report/ http://lens.civicus.org/sudan-in-crisis-mass-killings-continue-while-the-world-looks-away/ http://srdefenders.org/joint-statement-time-to-release-all-human-rights-defenders-and-end-their-prolonged-detention/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/civic-space-and-human-rights-defenders http://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/12/global-protests-2025-genz-corruption-economy   Oct. 2025   Attacks on global aid, rising securitisation, and the dismantling of the international aid architecture pose an urgent threat to fundamental freedoms, a UN expert warned today.   “The collapse of global aid greatly endangers the survival of civil society organisations and threatens the entire civil society ecosystem, as well as the future of international solidarity, collective action, and participation in multilateral forums,” said Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in her report to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.   Romero noted that, since the beginning of 2025, thousands of civil society associations that have been filling critical gaps by providing life-saving services, supporting victims of human rights violations, delivering vital humanitarian responses, and working to fight corruption, protect the environment, and advance peacebuilding, are either disappearing or severely reducing their operations. The impact has been especially severe for grassroots organisations and those led by women, LGBTQI groups, and marginalised communities.   “What is unfolding is not merely a funding issue, it is a structural crisis in the international solidarity ecosystem,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Civic space globally is suffocating, not only because States are intensifying the scale and gravity of repression, but also because the lifelines that kept it alive are fundamentally challenged.”   The expert stressed that securitisation of the global agenda is driving a shift in funds and political priorities towards strengthening defence and military capabilities at the expense of democratisation and human rights. She noted that States are increasingly misusing national security grounds and discourse to justify the repression civil society and social movements.   “The securitisation and militarisation of State responses to non-violent collective actions, which are increasingly led by youth activists and have resulted in serious violations, are deeply alarming,” Romero said.   The Special Rapporteur called for urgent action to rebuild international solidarity and redesign a strengthened, fairer global aid architecture. “This requires reimagining international aid architecture, through a participatory and transparent process, and ensuring that it is equitable, inclusive, people-centred and rights-based,” she said.   The expert warned that severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms threaten decades of progress on human rights and democratisation, jeopardising the fulfilment of global commitments towards the Sustainable Development Goals, peace and security, inclusion and equality, and climate justice.   “States should implement a human rights-based approach to security, ensuring security policies and decisions are firmly rooted in international human rights standards; enable freedoms; and foster democratic resilience and inclusive governance,” Romero said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/global-aid-dismantling-poses-existential-threat-collective-action-and-human http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a80219-report-special-rapporteur-rights-freedom-peaceful-assembly-and http://eurochild.org/news/podcast-shrinking-funds-for-nonprofits/
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