Citizen Lab - Digital Rights Research

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Citizen Lab is a leading empirical research institution documenting how governments and private actors deploy digital tools against civil society; relevant to AI governance, misuse risks, and deployment accountability discussions.

Metadata

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Summary

The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research lab investigating digital threats to democracy, human rights, and global security, including state-sponsored surveillance, spyware misuse, and AI-enabled influence operations. Their work documents cases of forensic tools like Cellebrite being misused against civil society actors and exposes disinformation campaigns by state and private actors. It serves as a primary source for empirical research on digital repression worldwide.

Key Points

•Investigates misuse of commercial surveillance tools (e.g., Cellebrite, Pegasus) against journalists, activists, and political figures globally.
•Documents AI-enabled influence operations, including a case attributed to Israeli government entities targeting Iranian audiences.
•Provides forensic evidence-based reporting connecting specific technologies to specific human rights violations.
•Research spans targeted surveillance, disinformation, and internet censorship with a civil society protection focus.
•Serves as a key counterintelligence resource for NGOs and civil society organizations facing state-level digital threats.

Cited by 1 page

Page	Type	Quality
AI Authoritarian Tools	Risk	91.0

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## Counterintelligence for civil society

Investigating novel threats to democracy, human rights, and global security in the digital ecosystem.

[![](https://citizenlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Cell-crop.jpg)](https://citizenlab.ca/research/cellebrite-used-on-kenyan-activist-and-politician-boniface-mwangi/)

## [Not Safe for Politics](https://citizenlab.ca/research/cellebrite-used-on-kenyan-activist-and-politician-boniface-mwangi/)

### [Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi](https://citizenlab.ca/research/cellebrite-used-on-kenyan-activist-and-politician-boniface-mwangi/)

[Targeted Surveillance](https://citizenlab.ca/focus-area/targeted-surveillance/)

Following the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools were used on his Samsung phone while it was in police custody. This case adds to the concerning pattern of the misuse of Cellebrite technology by government clients.

February 17, 2026

[![](<Base64-Image-Removed>)](https://citizenlab.ca/research/from-protest-to-peril-cellebrite-used-against-jordanian-civil-society/)

## [From Protest to Peril](https://citizenlab.ca/research/from-protest-to-peril-cellebrite-used-against-jordanian-civil-society/)

### [Cellebrite Used Against Jordanian Civil Society](https://citizenlab.ca/research/from-protest-to-peril-cellebrite-used-against-jordanian-civil-society/)

[Targeted Surveillance](https://citizenlab.ca/focus-area/targeted-surveillance/)

Through a multi-year investigation, we find that the Jordanian security apparatus has deployed forensic extraction products manufactured by Cellebrite against civil society devices. We release these findings alongside reporting from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which includes interviews with a few of the victims.

January 22, 2026

[![](<Base64-Image-Removed>)](https://citizenlab.ca/research/2025-10-ai-enabled-io-aimed-at-overthrowing-iranian-regime/)

## [We Say You Want a Revolution](https://citizenlab.ca/research/2025-10-ai-enabled-io-aimed-at-overthrowing-iranian-regime/)

### [PRISONBREAK – An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime](https://citizenlab.ca/research/2025-10-ai-enabled-io-aimed-at-overthrowing-iranian-regime/)

[Disinformation](https://citizenlab.ca/focus-area/disinformation/)

The control and strategic manipulation of information has long played a role in the geopolitical and ideological competition between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its political adversaries, including Israel. Prior Citizen Lab research has uncovered Iranian disinformation efforts, h

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