Digital rights careers newsletter

Dear Colleagues:Nearly two dozen years ago, the co-founder of the tech company where I worked gathered a hundred or so of the locally-based employees in the cafeteria to tell us about the inevitable impact on company costs of the bursting of the dotcom bubble. That meant layoffs, the company’s first. I recall just how raw and personal and unscripted the conversation was with all of us. No words about next chapters and building character suffice; it can be searing to be let go, especially in a work culture of fierce loyalty.I also recall in that period that so many of us believed the Internet was a nearly indisputable force for good. Nearly. As Rebecca MacKinnon wrote in her 2012 must-read book Consent of the Networked, “[A]lthough the Internet empowers dissent and activism, it is not an instant freedom tonic that, when applied in sufficient quantities, automatically results in freedom.” Sometimes I think we’ve surely learned over the past two decades that the Internet’s impact on the world is far more complicated and nuanced – essential to document human rights abuses in places like Iran, yet dangerously central in amplifying disinformation during elections in the United States and elsewhere – but tech leaders don’t often enough sufficiently resource and empower the teams that guard against the dangers of technology.These teams – human rights, trust & safety, privacy, content moderation, elections integrity, policy, law enforcement response, and others – and the issues on which they work aren’t sufficiently integrated into companies’ strategic decision-making. The #TechLayoffs of the past few weeks mean some of these roles have disappeared almost entirely from some organizations. Yet, they persist. Internships, fellowships, and jobs are still out there for you in companies, civil society, academia, government, think tanks, law firms, multi-stakeholder initiatives, international organizations, and the media.And here’s some career advice from a previous newsletter. Maybe it’s useful to you. I always suggest my students or colleagues ask themselves three questions when they’re interviewing for an internship, fellowship, or job or evaluating whether their current job is the right one for them.Are you around people of integrity? People committed to ethics, inclusiveness, teamwork, transparency, diversity, etc.Is your role contributing to a social good? Something that has a purpose/cause that you support, an impact on the rights, safety, or lives of a community of users. You can ask the same question about the organization you’re at itself.Are you continuously learning? Gaining knowledge and wisdom in a particular field and in how to navigate inside and outside an organization (management, leadership, mentoring, etc.).When thinking about jobs in digital rights, you’ll have lots of other important considerations like safety, workload, compensation, location, manager, hours, leave policy, travel, etc. You’ll need to prioritize all these factors depending on your own circumstances. Give some thought to the three questions outlined here, develop questions of your own, and check-in with yourself regularly on your answers and what they mean for your career.For career advice that's even more valuable, see the Q&A with this month’s guest practitioner, Aïda Ndiaye – one the tech industry’s smartest and most thoughtful in-house policy advisors. Aïda runs Meta’s Integrity Programmes and Campaigns in Europe, and before that was the head of Society and Responsibility for Facebook’s Africa, Middle East, and Turkey policy team. So many things stand out in her replies, including these:A question I often receive is how does it feel to [lead a policy team in Europe] as a black African woman? My identify is a source of pride and strength for me. I am very proud of my Senegalese heritage and if anything, I see who I am as an integral part of the work I do.Joining a group of dedicated and (proudly) African professionals representing Facebook and championing African voices on the global tech policy space was transformative for me.It’s important to question, regardless of our positionality, what we are doing to not only represent but give the voices we claim to speak for a place at the table to speak for themselves.In a recent article, Aïda also shared wise words for young folks looking to get started in tech and policy. The headline: Just Get Started!Michael SamwayThe Business and Human Rights GroupWebsite: www.thebhrgroup.com Twitter: @MichaelSamway