Freedom House quite different, and authorities should distinguish between surveillance and coercion threats from foreign agents, and proselytization and recruitment threats from extremists. • Restrict the export of censorship and surveillance technology. Given the significant potential for abuse, trade in censorship and surveillance technologies should be restricted, particularly for end users that are known to have committed human rights violations. • Require businesses exporting dual-use technologies to report annually on the impacts of their exports. Reports should include a list of countries to which they have exported such technologies, potential human rights concerns in each of those countries, a summary of preexport due diligence undertaken by businesses to ensure their products are not misused, any human rights violations that have occurred as a result of the use or potential use of their technologies, and any efforts undertaken to mitigate the harm done and prevent future abuses. Further, any official government export guidance should urge businesses to exercise caution and adhere to international principles on business and human rights when exporting dual-use technologies to countries rated Partly Free or Not Free by Freedom House. Recommendations for civil society • Invest in “digital hygiene” trainings among targeted communities, reaching beyond professional activist and journalism circles. The networked nature of digital organizing and digital communications means that penetration at one point can affect an entire community. Where the community includes refugees, digital hygiene should be integrated into refugee resettlement programs. • Increase engagement with law enforcement institutions that may encounter transnational repression in their work. Civil society organizations should provide briefings, educational introductions, and outreach to law enforcement institutions in order to help them better understand the problem. • Expand research into the consequences of transnational repression for targeted communities, and for host countries where they live, and disseminate findings among policymakers and targeted communities alike. Greater knowledge of the issue will encourage more effective and creative policymaking. freedomhouse.org 59

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