Fears being expressed by British officials that hostile states are exploiting freedom of information requests to access sensitive data amid talk of budget constraints pose a threat to the UK’s FOI system

Italian prosecutors have confirmed journalist Francesco Cancellato was targeted with Paragon’s military-grade Graphite spyware, exposing the gap between the tech firm’s “ethical hacking” claims and reality

A court in South Africa denied bail to the man suspected of murdering whistleblower Marumo Eric Phenya, citing threats to his wife, Blueprint whistleblowing prize winner Johannah Phenya

Australia’s top business lobby quietly proposed a copyright workaround allowing AI companies to mine books and articles without permission or payment

Within hours of US-Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran imposed a near-total internet shutdown, cutting off 90 million people. Journalists now rely on VPNs, Starlink and smuggled videos—while risking arrest or even execution under new espionage laws.

Increasing reliance on AI-driven tools such as facial recognition is contributing to wrongful arrests and miscarriages of justice

Spain plans to ban social media for under-16s, joining global efforts to protect children online. Critics warn blanket bans may backfire, while governments push tougher laws on harmful content and AI-generated abuse

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) has published its fourth annual report, which documents a worrying trend: strategic lawsuits against public participation are on the rise, and existing protection measures are far from sufficient

Data intelligence firm Palantir has made a mint from Trump’s mass deportation campaign, and is scoring major deals from the UK’s Ministry of Defence too

Private security firms are exploiting regulatory loopholes to repurpose mobile advertising data for surveillance, enabling near-real-time tracking while sidestepping privacy laws and meaningful user consent

A private member’s bill could invigorate the sluggish process of beefing up legal protections for whistleblowers in South Africa, where assassinations are on the rise

Iran, Uganda and Tanzania have become the latest countries to shut down the internet as a way of cracking down on political opposition