Digital Rights, Silenced Voices: Muslim American Experiences Online grew out of the recognition that the lack of data on Muslim Americans’ experiences with tech often left the community’s needs ignored - especially when policy recommendations for digital rights were being developed. Even though Muslim concerns were not adequately taken into account by advocacy organizations developing tech policies that would ultimately impact our communities, the unique ways in which Muslims are both harmed by and benefit from social networking means that including these experiences when developing tech policies is critical for any policy recommendations to be truly equitable. 

This report seeks to bridge this gap in information and highlights the needs and experiences of Muslim Americans—whose voices are often left out of critical digital policy conversations—as we collectively attempt to develop equitable policy solutions that prioritize our digital security and preserve our digital rights. This report was created with the hope that future advocacy campaigns around developing equitable tech and tech policy will better represent all of our communities’ needs and concerns.