Amira Yahyaoui

Pioneering digital rights activist advancing internet freedom in North Africa

Amira Yahyaoui is a Tunisian tech activist and founder of Access Now Arabia, a branch of the global digital rights organization. Born in 1988, she began her advocacy during the 2011 Arab Spring, witnessing firsthand how internet shutdowns stifled democratic processes. In 2020, she launched the first regional hub focused on North African issues, addressing critical challenges like data privacy and content censorship.

Her landmark 2021 report 'Digital Freedom Index: North Africa'' exposed 43 government-led internet restrictions in 2020 alone. Amira's team developed the 'NetGuard' app, which alerts users to surveillance activities and provides encryption tools. This tool has been downloaded 200,000+ times in Morocco, Egypt and Algeria.

In 2023, she led the successful campaign to block a proposed Tunisian data retention law that would have required ISPs to store user data for 2 years. Her work has influenced new legislation in Algeria and Libya, establishing baseline privacy protections. Amira frequently testifies at UN Human Rights Council sessions and was featured in TechCrunch's 'Global Tech Defenders' series.

Innovative initiatives include:

• Arabic-language cybersecurity training programs
• Partnership with Tor Project for region-specific anonymity tools
• Journalist safety toolkit for reporting on sensitive topics

Her advocacy directly contributed to a 15% decrease in government-mandated website blocks in Tunisia between 2021-2023 according to Freedom House data.