#ParoNacionalColombia and Digital Security Considerations for Police Brutality Protests

In the wake of Colombia’s tax reform proposal, which came as more Colombians fell into poverty as a result of the pandemic, demonstrations spread over the country in late April, reviving social unrest and socio-economic demands that led people to the streets in 2019.The government's attempts to reduce public outcry by withdrawing the tax proposal to draft a new text did not work. Protests continue online and offline. Violent repression on the ground by police, and the military presence in Colombian cities, have raised concerns among national and international groups—from civil organizations across the globe to human rights bodies that are calling on the government to respect people’s constitutional rights to assemble and allow free expression on the Internet and the streets. Media has reported on government crackdowns against the protestors, including physical violence, missing persons, and deaths, seizing of phones and other equipment used to document protests, and police action, as well as internet disruptions and content restrictions or takedowns by online platforms.

As the turmoil and demonstrations continue, we’ve put together some useful resources from EFF and allies we hope can help those attending protests and using technology and the Internet to speak up, report, and organize. Please note that the authors of this post come from primarily U.S.- and Brazil-based experiences. The post is by no means comprehensive. We urge readers to be aware that protest circumstances change quickly; digital security risks, and their mitigation, can vary depending on your location and other contexts. 

This post has two sections covering resources for navigating protests and resources for navigating networks.

Resources for Navigating Protests

Resources for Navigating Network Issues

Resources for Navigating Protests

To attend protests safely, demonstrators need to consider many factors and threats: these range from protecting themselves from harassment and their own devices’ location tracking capabilities, to balancing the need to use technologies for documenting law enforcement brutality and disseminating information. Another consideration is using encryption to protect data and messages from unintended readers. Some resources that may be helpful are:

For Protestors (Colombia)

• Kit for digital security before, during and after a protest (Fundación Karisma): Kit de seguridad digital para antes, durante y después de una protesta (Español)
• Digital security tips (Fundación Karisma): Jornada de protesta Nacional en Colombia #28A (Español)
• Resources for protesting online and offline documentation (Derechos Digitales): Tweet Thread (Españo