Investigating the evolving impact
of technology on society.

Tactical Tech 2018 Annual Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As digital technologies saturate every aspect of ourlives, they create great opportunities, but they also posenew problems and challenges that need to be understood and navigated. In our quantified society, data is
being collected and utilised at unprecedented rates bygovernments and corporations and amongst individuals,
and this has the potential to impact autonomy, politicalagency and power.

Tactical Tech is a Berlin-based
NGO that investigates the evolving impact of technology on society with an aim to educate,advocate and create practicalsolutions.
Our vision is a world where digital technologies can contributeto a more equitable, democraticand sustainable society.

Technologies always reflect the societies and contexts
they are utilised within. For this reason, these changes
constitute not a technological problem, but a socio-political challenge. The current debates and strategies
around ‘privacy’ and ‘security’ may address some facets of the issue, but we need to understand it from thebroader perspective of human rights and civil liberties.
Much like the environmental movement of the ‘80s and‘90s, today’s digital environment presents an agenda-setting moment that calls for a practical strategy
that complements the important research and policy
work that is already underway yet may take some time
to be effective. Moreover, changes in technology anduses of data require actions at the level of civil society
and engaged citizens, in order to create a broader shift
in public opinion, changes in consumer behaviour andan informed response from civil society.
Building on 15 years of experience, we are implementing
a ground-up strategy. Tactical Tech’s strategy educatesand enables politically motivated citizens and activists
worldwide to initiate actionable changes in their day-today work. These are practical solutions that can be easily shared and embedded within communities to create
widespread networks of change on a global scale.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Concluded a design
ethics course at
Potsdam University,
Germany. ▶ page 11

Kickstarted The
Influence Industry
project. ▶ page 16

Launched the Our
Data Our Selvesproject. ▶ page 16

JAN

FEB

By February 2018,
100,000 people had
visited our Data
Detox Kit web app,which was launchedthree months prior.
▶ page 9

MAR

Published the first
Data and Politics
country studies.
▶ page 16

Held our fifth and final Genderand Technology Institute in Uruguay with 70 women land rights
defenders. ▶ page 20

Led our first
Youth workshop.
▶ page 11

APR

Released two guides
in response to the#deletefacebook
campaign. ▶ page 16

Released a GDPR
checklist for civilsociety organisations
and grassroots groups.
▶ page 17

MAY

JUN

Launched XYZ,
an online platform for Genderand Technology.
▶ page 20

Launched the Internetof Things version of
The Glass Room Experience which since has
been set up by 94 hosts
around the world.
▶ page 7

Our landmark digital security
tactics guides from the Security ina-box project were updated
and translated into five languages.
▶ page 24

Released the online version of the Data Detox Kit
in four additional languages. ▶ page 9

JUL

AUG

SEP

Released our Gendersec
Training Curricula.
▶ page 20

OCT

Co-authored a paper ondata and democracy thatwas presented to the UK
House of Lords.
▶ page 17

Held an 11-day working
residency dedicatedto building a toolkit forinvestigations.
▶ page 14

Led the first design
ethics workshop at
Thoughtworks, London.
▶ page 11

NOV

DEC

New research, released
alongside artist Joana
Moll, revealed thelargely hidden networkof companies capitalising on the personal dataof dating profiles gaining international media
attention. ▶ page 17

3

ENGAGING CITIZENS
Enabling a public audience tomake sustainable, positive changes in their digital lives.
Awareness around the potential threat of digitaltechnologies on society has grown exponentiallyover the past decade. The largest companies suchas Facebook or Google are constantly under scrutiny
and users are becoming more sceptical.
And yet, digital technologies – be it a smart phoneor a smart toothbrush – are increasingly part of ourdaily lives. But at what cost? Few of us read theterms and conditions, and we often don’t know what
we are agreeing to when we click subscribe.
Our public-facing projects encourage people topause and think critically about their relationships
with these technologies. What can they do to reduce their digital footprint? How might they understand more about the companies behind their data
and what goes on behind their screens? And what
are the alternatives?

5

94 GLASS ROOM EXPERIENCE EVENTS WERE HELD IN 2018, REACHING OVER 75,000 PEOPLE

900 visitors at
University of Quebec,
Montreal, CA

2.500 visitors at
Hinchingbrooke School,
Huntingdon, UK

12.000 visitors at
Futur.e.s, Paris, FR

18.000 visitors at The Copernicus
Science Center, Warsaw, PL

DEC

MAY
JAN

4.800 visitors at ŁódźDesign Festival, Lódź, PL

THE GLASS ROOM

SEP
re:publica, Accra, GH

20.000 visitors at the Gdynia
Design Days, Gdynia, PL

A series of public education interventions to engage a
global audience in how technology impacts society.
The Glass Room project started in 2016 as a way to creatively address the challenges that digital technologies
pose to society.
In 2018, alongside our partners Mozilla, we developed aportable, pop-up version of the exhibition focused on
the Internet of Things, including posters, games andinteractive exhibits that explore and critique the rise ofsmart devices.

World Library and Information
Congress, Kuala Lumpur, MY

Throughout the year, it was hosted in 94 locations
across Europe, North America and throughout theworld, including at the World Library and Information
Congress in Kuala Lumpur, on a subway platform in
Helsinki and by a 12-year-old student in The Hague.
Combined, these satellite events provided 75,000 visitors with opportunities to learn more about what isbehind the technologies they use every day.
VISITORS INTERACT WITH THE TABLETS
AT THE GLASS ROOM EXPERIENCE AT
SONAR FESTIVAL, BARCELONAVISITORS LOOK AT THE ALPHABET EMPIRE AT THE
GLASS ROOM EXPERIENCE AT RE:PUBLICA, GHANA

The Glass Room is a unique, creative format thatmakes abstract topics interesting and accessible to awide audience. With exhibits that combine art, technology and interactivity, it helps engage visitors incomplex issues around the role of digital technologies
in society.
THEGLASSROOM.ORG

7

MORE THAN 150,000 PEOPLE REACHED WITH THE PRINT AND ONLINE VERSIONS OF THE DATA DETOX KIT
1 SQUARE = 100 PEOPLE

THE DATA DETOX KIT
A toolkit to inform citizens of the steps they can taketo improve their online privacy, digital security andwellbeing.
The phrase ‘If it’s free, you’re the product’ is by now wellknown. But the question ‘What can I do?’ still prevails.
The Data Detox Kit was created in 2016 to give people
concrete answers to that question, through practicalsteps and advice.
In 2018, the Data Detox team worked on expanding the
kit for a more global audience and developing the content beyond privacy, to incorporate tips and advice on
digital security and wellbeing. As part of this strategy,
we developed a low-cost, printable version and translated the kit into nine languages with the help of local
partners in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
In 2018, the Kit reached more than 150,000 people,
enabling them to transition from reactive consumers
to active advocates who take precautionary steps andshare their learnings with their communities.

DATA DETOX KIT TRANSLATED INTO 9 DIFFERENT LANGUAGESENGLISHDEUTSCHESPAÑOLSVENSKAPORTUGUÊSPOLSKINORSKNEDERLANDS

FRANÇAISBAHASAINDONESIA“I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to
put this guide together. The data detox plan was[what] I needed to really do something about mymessy ‘bedroom’ of internet privacy settings.”- Data Detox User
DATADETOX.MYSHADOW.ORG

9

NEW PUBLIC-FACING WORK
During 2018, we started two new areas of work, which wethen tested and developed throughout the year.

DATA AND YOUTH
Since launching The Glass Room and Data Detox projects in 2016, we recognised a need for comprehensive
and accessible resources for young people on how to
use digital technologies.

STUDENTS DRAWING THEIR DATATRACES AT A SCHOOL IN THE HAGUE

To launch this work, we tested and developed workshops on youth and technology in four schools withstudents, teachers and parents; and we met key actors
in the field, contributing to a UK Labour Party strategy
for data privacy and youth.
STUDENTS BEING SHOWN THE REAL LIFE OF YOUR SELFIEPOSTER AT A SCHOOL IN THE HAGUEDATA AND DESIGN ETHICSThis topic looks at bridging the gap between productdesign and policy to address the potentially harmful
impact of digital technologies, with a focus on how
they are designed.
In 2018 we worked with technologists, designers andproduct developers – from entry level students toboard member level decision makers – to find methodologies to design and develop technologies differently
and to stem problems at a pre-design stage rather than
through regulatory enforcement.
READING MATERIAL FOR A DATA AND DESIGN ETHICS
WORKSHOP AT THE DESIGN MUSEUM, LONDON

11

ENGAGING CIVIL SOCIETY
Raising awareness and empowering
civil society actors, activists
and investigative journalists tomake informed decisions about
how they use technology in theirwork.
As the data revolution transforms nearly every industry and sector, it puts a strain on freedoms ofexpression, association and political thought. At thesame time, the abundance of information provides
a unique opportunity for exposing corruption andabuses of power.
This project area aims to facilitate and support activists, investigative journalists and other NGOs in
advancing their technology skills so that they aresafer and in a better position to do their work.

13

EXPOSING THE INVISIBLE
A research project and guide for anyone who is interested in gathering evidence or using investigation as aplatform for activism.
In an era of an increasing spread of misinformation it
can be hard for journalists, civil society organisations
and citizens to verify facts and evidence.
Our aim in 2018 was to turn investigation into a wider
form of civic engagement by providing the knowledge
and skills to collect and verify evidence. We also wanted to develop an on-the-move digital security component to this practice so that investigators have a nuanced understanding of the potential risks they face.
To kick start this goal, we ran an 11-day residency witha group of practitioners in the field. The result was over
66,000 words spanning over 20 topics of what, how andwhy to investigate, forming the basis of a comprehensive Kit that will help anyone become an investigator.

66,000 WORDS WRITTEN DURING THE
RESIDENCY SPANNING OVER 20 TOPICS
AND OUTLINING MANY MORE

You are already an investigator. That is why you are here. You
have the curiosity, or the skills, or a problem that needs solving.
You need to gather information, or you’ve already found information and you want to know how to use it. This kit will show you
how to move from curiosity to investigation to action. The content here is being developed collectively by a group of researchers, activists, journalists, developers, artists and others eager
to share knowledge on how to conduct investigations using awide range of skills, tools and techniques. Like you, they are
curious and motivated to learn about problems affecting theirsurroundings and to act on that information. Using this kit, youwill uncover different ways to build knowledge that can help you
address an issue or simply to verify information instead of taking
it for granted. Whether you are seeking to uncover corruption in
local politics, document the manufacturing process of a productyou consume, or map the scale of environmental damage in yourneighbourhood, here you will find inspiration, useful techniques

By the end of 2018, over a dozen chapters of the Kit had
been written in collaboration with the community of investigators including using maps for investigation, retrieving and archiving information from websites, andsupply chain investigations.
These chapters address a need in the field of citizen
investigation for a comprehensive, digital security focused resource that can be used by entry level and experienced investigators alike.
EXPOSINGTHEINVISIBLE.ORG / KIT.EXPOSINGTHEINVISIBLE.ORG

14

15

OUR DATA OUR SELVES
Across three thematic areas – Data and Politics, Data
and Activism and Data and You – we investigate how
personal data has become an asset that can be usedby different stakeholders to exert control and influence over citizens and civil society.
A number of things happened in the external environment that fed into this work, the most pertinent being
the revelation that millions of Facebook users’ personal
data had been accessed and used by Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm whose tactics played an
influential role in the US and UK elections.
Building on the research that we began in 2017, theData and Politics team spent 2018 working with international partners to investigate the extent of this burgeoning political practice. We commissioned and published studies from Kenya, Brazil, Malaysia, India and 10
other countries, which revealed that the use of personal data in elections is a global phenomenon with an entire market built around it. We researched and identified over 300 organisations who market themselves onusing personal data for political gain, and investigatedand explained several of their primary methods, including geo-targeting, psychometric profiling and the useof WhatsApp in the Global South.
As a result of this project, we were invited to speak to
the UK Parliament about digital campaigning and we
co-authored a report that was presented to the Houseof Lords in June.

Meanwhile, as the #deletefacebook campaign kicked
off, the Data and Activism team created two guides
to help people navigate how to increase their privacy
on the platform, or leave. The team also responded toEurope’s new General Data Protection Regulation witha comprehensive guide for civil society organisations,and a number of guides on the risks that they face,such as applying for a visa, attending events, or activism on social media.
Alongside this, our work on data and discrimination hit
the headlines when we released our findings after purchasing 1 million dating profiles from the company
USDate, alongside artist Joana Moll. The project exposed an extensive data brokering industry behind thedating profiles, the extent of which was previously unknown.
The goal of this project, Moll said, isn’t to place
blame on individuals for not understanding how theirdata is used, but to reveal the economics and business models behind what we do every day online.
— Shady Data Brokers Are Selling Online Dating
Profiles by the Millions, motherboard, vice
Since launching at the start of 2018, the Our Data Our
Selves project has provided timely and meaningful
contributions to the fields of technology, policy andhuman rights. Our ongoing research is helping to shape
the narrative and provoke change on an international
level.
OURDATAOURSELVES.TACTICALTECH.ORG

17

The Data and Politics Project –Country Studies and Media Reactions
EXPLANATION KEY– COUNTRY STUDIES(Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Catalonia,
Chile, Colombia, France, India, Italy,
Kenya, Malaysia, Mexixo, UK, USA)The Intercept:
Your phone number is worth 9 cents inthe zap of politicians– SELECTED MEDIA REPORTS
Media Outlet’s name
Headline of article / report /podcastOpen Democracy:
And now that? From political innovation
to democratic resilience in Latin America
Brazil, disinformation by WhatsApp andthe future of democracy
Access Now:Your Data Used Against You: Reportsof Manipulation on WhatsApp ahead of
Brazil’s Election
La Nacion:
Brazil, disinformation by WhatsApp andthe future of democracy

KR Asia:
Is Indonesia better equipped to deal
with hoaxes on WhatsApp in thiselection?

Son tus datos:
How do Mexican political parties
use your data to influence yourvote?
Cerosetenta: What political partiesare doing with our digital data
#iFreeKe:
How private data was used during
the 2017 Kenyan election
The Atlantic:
What Congress Should Ask Mark
Zuckerberg

The Wire:
India’s Electoral Laws are Ill-Equipped
to Deal with Digital Propaganda

El Economista:
The digital divide played against
the political parties in Mexico
RRC:
Report | How do the Mexican
Political Parties use your data
to influence your vote?

Teen Vogue:
How to Delete Facebook Accounts

Euronews: Cambridge Analytica Users
Shouldn’t Have to Quit Social Networks
to Protect Themselves

Mittagsmagazin:
What to do with Facebook
Deutsche Welle:
Facebook: An antisocial network?

19

GENDER AND TECHNOLOGY
A project to increase the digital literacy, security culture and competency among women in the humanrights sector worldwide.
Every day, women face the consequences of online
harassment and hate speech as a result of their gender
identity and their environment. In this context, Tactical
Tech’s Gender and Tech project has spent the last four
years working toward giving women, specifically in Latin America, the technical skills and practical know-how
to teach one another and create their own networks.
In 2018 we held the fifth and final Gender and Technology Institute (GTI) in Uruguay with women land rights
defenders. The event was part of a series oriented
towards women activists, women human rights defenders and LGBTIQ, which have taken place around theworld in Germany, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Spain, Panama,
Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mexico and Uruguay. In partnershipwith local and international organisations, each GTI has
further developed specific facilitation methodologies
and training contents addressing the risks faced by activist women in the region.
The 70 participants of the GTI in 2018 have become
training and digital security experts for their communities. In 2018 these “Champions” carried out 16 follow-on
activities in which they increased the digital security
capacity of nearly 800 new members of their communities.

Another outcome of the GTIs was the Gendersec Training Curricula, a resource of over 20 workshops andtrainings that bring a feminist, holistic perspective to
privacy and digital security trainings. It is informed by
the insights and conversations that grew out of this series of encounters and the work of over 50 facilitatorsand curricula developers engaged in developing andtraining others in a reflective and empowering use oftechnology.
The Gender and Tech project has helped women human rights defenders and activists to understand how
offline discrimination, control and abuse play out in
online environments and to find strategies for handlingthe barriers posed to their free expression online.
The 213 women we trained went on to reach a further
5,440 women in their own communities. The Gendersec Training Curricula enables this network to keep
spreading by providing over 20 topics and resources
for workshops themed around privacy and digital security from a gender perspective. Our report on Online
Harassment, published last year, analyses what isbeing done to tackle this problem and offers a seriesof recommendations. In its fourth and final year, thesustainable resources that came out of this projectwill allow an evolving community to continue making aunique contribution to women’s rights.
GENDERSEC.TACTICALTECH.ORG

21

How We Built the Capacity of Women
Human Rights Defenders Around theWorld in Four Years.

5 GENDER AND TECH INSTITUTES
2014-2018 IN GERMANY, ECUADOR,MALAYSIA, PANAMA AND URUGUAY

178 FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES

213 PARTICIPANTS
IN TOTALREACHING 5,440
PEOPLE*THIS VISUAL IS BASED ON STATISTICS GATHEREDFROM THE GENDER AND TECHNOLOGY WIKI FOLLOW-ON
ACTIVITIES. GENDERSEC.TACTICALTECH.ORG

23

SECURITY IN-A-BOX
A toolkit to provide activists, human rights defenders
and journalists with the digital security techniques
and tactics they need to work safely.
Tactical Tech first released our landmark digital security project, Security in-a-box, alongside Front Line Defenders in 2009. Our aim was to meet the digital security and privacy needs of human rights defenders aroundthe world and to enable more robust safety practices inhigher risk environments.
In 2018, we updated the Tactics Guides in five languages, which cover 10 topics of smart digital security practices – such as creating strong passwords, dealing withphishing attacks and using smart phones securely. We
also transitioned the entire resource onto a community sharing platform to intensify our efforts to bring on
board the wider digital security community. By doing
this, we hope to encourage other organisations andindividuals to adapt, update, share and use the Security in-a-box platform. As a resource that has always
thrived from community involvement, this is an exciting and necessary step as the toolkit moves to its next
phase.
In the decade since Security in-a-box was first released, it has been adapted into 17 languages, and has
been used by a wide network of trainers who have been
crucial in increasing the safety and digital security
knowledge of millions of human rights defenders, journalists and civil society organisations worldwide.

I have learnt that with digital security, the moment
you became involved, it became a ripple effect...
Security-in-a-Box was my bible when I started in thisjourney and it holds a very special place in my heart.
— Interviewee from Tactical Tech impact report2017
We will continue to contribute to the resource, and thefundamental principles of digital security will be integrated into our wider group of projects, encouraging
benchmark digital security practices among citizens
and human rights defenders.
SECURITYINABOX.ORG

SECURITY IN-A-BOX BOOK COVERS IN FOUR OF
THE 17 TRANSLATED LANGUAGES.

25

Security in-a-box Website Visits
and Browser Languages in 2018

English:267,164 VISITS

Browser languages(from most to least frequent)Chinese: 12,041
Thai: 16,129
Turkish: 24,540
Portuguese: 30,857
Indonesian:
31,509Vietnamese:
42,682

Arabic:45,406

French:46,254
Russian:
117,725 VISITS

Spanish: 111,406

EnglishRussian
SpanishFrenchArabicVietnameseIndonesianPortuguese
TurkishThai
ChineseGermanItalian
Ukrainian
Dutch
Polish
Unknown
CatalanSwedishPersian
Czech
Japanese
Greek
KoreanHungarian
FinnishKhmer
Hebrew
DanishNorwegian Bokmål
Romanian
SlovakBulgarian
Croatian
Slovenian
Lithuanian
Belarusian
Malay
SerbianLatvianEstonian
Macedonian
Hindi
Azerbaijani
BasqueBurmese
Galician
Lao
Amharic
Tagalog
MarathiGeorgian
BengaliJavanese
Afrikaans
Uzbek
Icelandic
Tamil
Bosnian
Urdu
Norwegian
Tatar
KazakhTibetanArmenian
Ido
Mongolian
Esperanto
KannadaLuxembourgish
Swahili
Albanian
BretonKyrgyzNorwegian Nynorsk
PunjabiSinhalaTeluguWelsh
Assamese
ChuvashGujarati
Irish
Malayalam
Nepali
Oriya
Scottish Gaelic
TigrinyaWestern Frisian27

OUTREACH SUMMARY−− Our combined web presence saw over 1.7 million
unique visitors.
−− Our main Twitter feed @info_activism reached33,400 followers and an average of 1 million impressions per month.
−− Our monthly newsletter In the Loop reached4,400 subscribers.
−− 74,400 visitors attended our events and we connected directly with 800 human rights defenders, activists, journalists and others.
−− We distributed 7,500 copies of our printed materials.
−− Our resources and toolkits had 117 media mentions from major media outlets including Vice
Motherboard, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue
and El País. In addition, other organisations recommended our resources and toolkits including
Mozilla, Netzpolitik, The Global Center for Investigative Journalism and the Colombia Journalism Review.

74,400 VISITORS AT TACTICAL TECH’S
DIFFERENT EVENTS IN 201829

7,500 COPIES OF RESOURCES DISTRIBUTED IN 2018

FINANCIAL REVIEWIn 2018, we successfully completed two financial audits; a project audit and an organisational audit, bothwere without findings.
During 2018, Tactical Tech’s total income was:
1,351,614 EUR
Total expenditure for the year was: 2,386,276 EUR.
In 2018, our main sources of funding were:−− Core funding from The Oak Foundation, the Omidyar
Network, a private human rights foundation and the
Sigrid Rausing Trust.
−− Project funding from the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Mozilla Foundation, the Information Programme at
the Open Society Foundations (OSF), as well as aco-funding contribution to the Gender and Techproject by Mama Cash and FRIDA The Young Feminist Fund.
We would like to thank all of our funders for making thework from 2018 possible.

31Tactical Tech
Brunnenstrasse 910119 Berlin
tacticaltech.org
Newsletter sign-up: lists.tacticaltech.org
Twitter: @info_activism