SMEX is a digital rights organization advocating for rights-respecting internet policies in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to engaging in reporting, research, legal analysis, and campaigns on issues such as online expression, threats to data protection and privacy, mobile telecom operators’ policy, internet disruptions, and targeted surveillance, SMEX leads two legal data initiatives: the CYRILLA Collaborative, a global effort to map and visualize trends in law and case law related to digital rights from across the world, and Muhal, a database documenting detentions related to online freedom of expression in Lebanon. A member of the Global Network Initiative, IFEX, and the Association for Progressive Communications, SMEX also plays a unique role in convening researchers, civil society, technologists, and activists at Bread&Net, its annual unconference tackling digital rights issues in the MENA region.