Hello everyone,
Over the last couple of days, there have been several media reports about
the Foundation’s most recent office action, taken on December 6
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/thread/NJUOKYM2UTKFH53OKGIXW6OSEEDUI3AL/>.
More are certain to follow. These media reports are based on a release from
SMEX and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) that contains many
material inaccuracies. Some of the errors will be obvious to our community
- for perhaps the most obvious, the report states that the 16 users are all
based in Saudi Arabia . This is unlikely to be the case. While we do not
know where these volunteers actually reside, the bans of any volunteers who
may have been Saudi were part of a much broader action globally banning 16
editors across the MENA region. Indeed, many of them are not active in the
Arabic language projects. These organizations did not share the statement
with the Foundation, and “sources of knowledge” as cited in their release
can get things wrong. In addition, we do not have staff in the country
named and never have, contrary to a message put out by the same groups on
social media.
As we noted in December in our statement, we are unable to discuss
Foundation office actions in detail. The Foundation always lists accounts
banned as a result of its investigations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMF_Global_Ban_Policy#List_of_global_bans_placed_by_the_Wikimedia_Foundation>.
It is our goal to be as transparent as we can be within essential
protection policies, which is why we do not ban in secret, but instead
disclose accounts impacted and (when large numbers are involved) have
disclosed the rationale.
The roots of our December action stretch back over several years. We were
initially contacted by outside experts who made us aware about concerns
they had about Farsi Wikipedia. We can’t comment on that report right now,
but it will be published by that organization soon. This report not only
contributed to our August 23, 2021 modification of our non-disclosure
agreement
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_information&diff=21925066&oldid=21609723>
to make it harder for rights-holders to be coerced, but led to further
evaluation of issues across MENA. The December bans were the culmination of
those evaluations.
Wikimedia is, as mentioned above, an open knowledge platform, and it
thrives on open participation. Investigations and global bans are not
things that any of us take lightly, but the Foundation is committed to
supporting the knowledge-sharing models that have created so many valuable
information resources in hundreds of languages across the world. Our first
line of defense of our Terms of Use
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use#4._Refraining_from_Certain_Activities>
are our volunteers themselves. Where issues present a credible threat of
harm to our users and to the security of Wikimedia platforms, we will do
the best we can to protect both.
We trust and hope that our communities understand that misinformation about
this action has the potential to cause harm to the individuals involved. We
believe in the incredible value produced by our volunteers across the
globe, but even so we recognize that being found in contravention of a
website’s Terms of Use — even in a manner that organization finds serious
enough to warrant a ban — is not the equivalent of being convicted of any
crime. Accordingly, we ask you to please be conscious of the real people
involved, in the spirit of our long established respect for living people
on our sites
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Biographies_of_living_people>.
We realize that it is tempting to speculate, but we do ask you all to
recall that people’s employment options, their relationships, and even
their physical safety may be compromised by speculation.
If anyone feels unsafe on Wikimedia projects, please use the local
community processes or contact us. The Foundation and community will work
together or in parallel to enhance the safety of all volunteers. To contact
the Trust & Safety team please email ca(a)wikimedia.org .
Best regards,
WMF Office/Trust and Safety