Tooling practices and weaknesses within the European digital rights field

By Martijn de Heer & Evelyn Austin, Bits of Freedom

Last updated: March 2025

As digital rights organizations, we must lead by example and embody the principles we advocate. This entails utilizing technology that reflects our values and message, as well as adopting a progressive approach to technological advancements. By doing so, we hope to inspire others in- and outside of our field.

Currently, our tools fall short in several key areas, including user-friendliness, functionality, deployment speed, durability, and overall efficiency.

This research aims to ensure that the tools used in the European digital rights sector are truly fit for purpose.

Outcomes

• Final report March 2025
• Interim report August 2022

Download the PDFs: final-report.pdf, interim-report.pdf.

Contact

For more information on this research or for any feedback reach out to me martijn[at]bitsoffreedom.nl. For more information about Bits of Freedom and our work see our website: bitsoffreedom.nl.