Advancing digital rights through strategic litigation
What we do
DFF funds three types of activities: litigation, pre-litigation, and post-litigation. We accept grant applications through regular calls for applications, which are announced on our grants page.
DFF facilitates events and develops resources to support organisations and individuals in pursuing litigation to advance digital rights.
Our Grantmaking Case Studies
Rete Lenford are preparing a legal strategy to address systemic discrimination faced by transgender individuals in Italy due to the mismanagement of personal data by public healthcare entities. In the...
This project stems from the experiences of survivors who came to No Es Terapia after being subjected to conversion practices in Spain. “Conversion therapies” are practices aimed at changing a...
Poradňa are preparing legal action challenging discrimination against the Roma ethnic minority in Slovakia, with a focus on access to public transport ticketing systems that require digital tools and skills....
Institute for Human Rights Skopje are challenging the unlawful practices of the police in North Macedonia of creating, retaining, and informally exchanging small-scale criminal and intelligence-related files on citizens. There...
Lex Collective are preparing criminal complaints before French courts concerning online hate speech, ethnic incitement, and gender-based threats disseminated and amplified via social media in the context of the ongoing...
Across Europe, migration enforcement increasingly relies on detection measures embedded in everyday administrative and service contexts, including healthcare, education, housing and social services, or public spaces. Detection measures are often...
In September 2025, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled in Civio’s favour after a seven-year legal battle, ordering the government to release the source code of BOSCO, an algorithm determining eligibility for...
Liberty are challenging the UK government’s regime to issue a Technical Capability Notice (“TCN”) under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. In February 2025, it was reported that the UK Secretary...
The European Fem Institute is preparing an enforcement case against Meta for systemic failures to combat cyberviolence against women and people of diverse genders. The European Fem Institute has done...
Amnesty International Netherlands carried out pre-litigation research preparing for litigation to challenge the unlawful and unregulated online monitoring by police and/or municipalities in the Netherlands. The research was completed in...
Our Community Hubs
The Hub focuses on legal strategies to ensure that the development and deployment of AI and related infrastructure centres human rights and environmental justice.
We developed the Digital Democracy Hub in order to enable activists to collaborate and develop legal strategies that result in stronger human rights protections that put us first and hold Big Tech and governments accountable for technology-driven harms.
Resources
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News
From our blog
DFF funds 16 new legal actions for digital rights – 2026 mid-year update on new grants
In June, we approved 16 new grants worth EUR 500,000 supporting legal action and research to advance digital rights in Europe. Scroll down to see the full list of new grantee partners. A major milestone is that we have now
Defending digital democracy in courts and beyond!
From 29 June to 2 July, a cohort from our community came together on the outskirts of Utrecht for another strategic litigation retreat. This was the second retreat to host participants from our Community Hubs. The first, in October 2025,
Distributed Leadership: Reiteration as a Source of Agility in Turbulent Times
Illustration by Berenice Alvarez and Laura Lopez Two years into our journey with distributed leadership at Digital Freedom Fund, we’ve moved solidly from theory to lived practice. What began as a structural shift has evolved into something more fundamental: a