March 2025 Newsletter: International Women’s Day and Digital 50-50 Released!

This year’s first issue of Digital 50.50, ‘Empowered Voices, Accountable Platforms: Redefining Digital Equality’, was launched on 8 March to mark International Women’s Day. The issue features 10 stories approaching the theme from unique angles, such as social media moderation of gendered slurs in Urdu, how the overuse of AI in content moderation is affecting user experience, and how women’s digital livelihoods are being affected by the controversial PECA amendments. The issue also showcases cover art and beautiful illustrations by Emil Hasnain. Read the issue here.

In honour of International Women’s Day, the DRF team also presented their viewpoints explaining why digital rights are so important in today’s world, and how digital security helplines like ours help to make online spaces safer for young girls and women in South Asia and beyond. 

Regional Engagements & Initiatives:

Nighat Dad at NO MORE Tech Summit Panel

Nighat Dad moderated a panel titled “Bias in the Bot: How AI can Either Perpetuate or Prevent Violence Against Women” at NO MORE’s Tech Summit on 4 March. The panel explored the intersection of AI, ethics and gender-based violence, focusing on both the risks and time potential of technology to address these challenges.

DRF part of amicus brief submitted to US Supreme Court

DRF was part of an amicus brief submitted to the US Supreme Court by the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic (TLPC) at the University of Colorado Law School over privacy rights. The brief urged the Court to rule against an act which threatens data privacy rights worldwide. DRF was amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) to the brief.

Five-Point Plan Submitted to WSIS+20

DRF is proud to be a part of this effort, alongside 101 civil society groups and 46 experts, to recommend a Five Point Plan to WSIS+20 on meaningfully operationalising global digital governance and development goals—with transparency, inclusivity, and stakeholder engagement at the forefront.

Our Latest Research & Advocacy:

Identifying AI deepfakes: #TrumpZelenskyMeeting

A video from US President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky recently went viral, showing the leaders exchanging blows and fooling the public at large; even news outlets reported on it. DRF released this video sharing tips and tricks on how to detect AI deepfakes online.

#BeCyberSavvy Campaign

DRF collaborated with students from Punjab University for their campaign against cyberbullying and harassment, calling for citizens to #BeCyberSavvy and protect your digital space. The campaign featured insights and actionable tips from DRF’s helpline team.

Digital Rights Tracker Updates

DRF started a new weekly series for its Digital Rights Tracker. While still in its beta phase, the Tracker contains the latest updates on digital governance and rights issues in Pakistan. Stay informed, and check out our tracker here.

Press Coverage

Nighat Dad highlights need to build AI governance capacity 

Nighat Dad talked to Bol News about the urgent need to build national and regional capacity for AI governance given rapid geopolitical advancements and emerging technology developments in today’s world. Watch the entire segment here.

Nighat Dad’s Op-Ed on Workplace Harassment

Nighat Dad explored the legal precedent set on workplace harassment, highlighting the structural challenges women in Pakistan routinely face in professional environments, upon the recent Supreme Court decision by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. She states, “Women’s safety in professional spaces should not hinge on sporadic judicial interventions. It must be a fundamental, non-negotiable standard.” Read more here.

DRF Comments on Cyber Blackmail

Nukta Pakistan released a comprehensive piece on cyber blackmail trends in Pakistan in which DRF’s helpline was featured. DRF team member Anmol Sajjad also commented on the trend, saying “in these situations, you must remember that it’s not your fault.”

DRF was also featured in the following press coverage:

Behind the Scenes with DRF:

AI Workshop for DRF Team

We held an in-depth workshop for our team on generative AI. Led by tech innovation educationalist and entrepreneur Jazib Zahir, this workshop explored how AI uses data, AI’s limitations, and cases where AI tools can be used responsibly. AI is evolving fast, but policies and regulations are struggling to keep up—leaving room for misuse and abuse. That’s why DRF will continue to study AI and its ramifications on data and ethics, not just to understand the latest emerging technologies, but to also build trust and shape a future where AI works for all.

Tech trends:

AI ‘Studio Ghibli’ images: cute trend or ethically murky use-case?

In the last week of March, OpenAI released its “most advanced image generator yet” to its ChatGPT GPT-4o model, capable of producing photorealistic outputs which OpenAI founder Sam Altman claimed to have a hard time believing “they were really made by AI”. One use-case of this image generator that has taken the internet by storm since is the “Studio Ghibli-fication” of real photos, i.e., the rendering of personal photos in the style of the popular Japanese Studio Ghibli ‘cutesy’ animation style, co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki.

While the appeal of this transformation of photos of families, politicians, and even Israeli armed forces into adorable animations spread like wildfire, the internet was divided over its ethical ramifications. Critics expressed concerns over the data used to train GPT-4o to produce these outputs, likely Studio Ghibli art itself being used without permission (a four-second Studio Ghibli scene which took 1 year and 3 months to animate started making the rounds, demonstrating the lifelong efforts of animators, labour which is being stolen and cheapened into AI outputs) Excerpts from a 2016 interview with Miyazaki over AI art resurfaced, with him notably calling the incorporation of AI technologies into art and animation “an insult to life itself”.

While the jury remains out over the Studio Ghibli trend, there is no denying the impact of its proliferation, with ChatGPT reporting a record 150 million weekly active users for the first time on the back of the viral trend.

xAI acquires social media platform X in merger

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has acquired his social media platform, X, in a merger that valued X at $33bn ($45bn excluding $12bn debt). Commenting on the merger, D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said the $45bn price tag for X with debt included was not a coincidence. Since Musk bought Twitter for $44bn in 2022 excluding debt, representing X’s value in this way creates a positive financial narrative and reassures investors. The specifics of the deal remain unclear, with concerns over X leader integration, regulatory scrutiny, and xAI’s increased access to X user data to train its AI chatbot, Grok.

Tip of the month:

Practice Good Device Hygiene

Your devices hold your digital life—treat them with care. You can start by: 

• Setting up strong passwords or biometric locks (fingerprint or face ID). 
• Enable auto-lock and adjust settings so your screen times out quickly when not in use. 
• Encrypt your phone and computer to protect sensitive data if they’re ever lost or stolen. 
• Avoid leaving devices unattended in public places.
• Don’t forget to back up your data regularly. 
• Use privacy protectors on screens.

Keeping your devices secure isn’t just smart—it’s an act of self-care in the digital age. A little attention now can save you from major headaches later.

DRF Resources:

Cyber Harassment Helpline: 

The Cyber Harassment Helpline received 150 complaints in March 2025, of which 131 were related to cyber harassment.

The Helpline also issued a scam alert online, warning citizens to beware of scammers pretending to be PTA representatives and to get access to sensitive information via OTP (one-time passwords) codes.

If you’re encountering a problem online, you can reach out to our helpline at 0800-39393, email us at helpdesk@digitalrightsfoundation.pk or reach out to us on our social media accounts. We’re available for assistance from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Sunday.

IWF Portal

www.report.iwf.org.uk/pk 

StopNCII.org

https://stopncii.org/