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Palestine Deep Dive · Yesterday · 1 hr 11 min

The Palestinian Ethical Alternative to Big Tech | UpScrolled founder Issam Hijazi

When it was launched in June 2025, millions of users joined UpScrolled in just a few weeks making it the fastest growing social media platform to date. In this episode of Occupied Tech, UpScrolled’s Palestinian founder Issam Hijazi joins Paul Biggar of Tech for Palestine to discuss his journey of building an ethical alternative to Big Tech that rejects surveillance capitalism, and why the future of technology depends on values, not just growth. From sabotage and censorship to ethical product design, the challenges of raising investment without compromising principles, and the future of social media, this conversation explores what it takes to build technology that serves people instead of exploiting them. Occupied Tech is a podcast by Tech for Palestine in collaboration with Palestine Deep Dive. Each episode explores how the global tech industry fuels Israel’s apartheid, occupation, and genocide, while also highlighting the brave individuals and organisations working to dismantle this system of oppression. 👉 Support us by becoming a paid subscriber from as little as £1 a month. Your support helps us build independent Palestinian-led media in a world which has never needed it more urgently: https://donorbox.org/support-palestine-deepdive 👉 Follow us: https://x.com/PDeepDive https://instagram.com/palestinedeepdive https://facebook.com/palestinedeepdive *DISCLAIMER:* The views and opinions expressed by guests on Palestine Deep Dive are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial position of Palestine Deep Dive. Palestine Deep Dive is committed to fostering informed, open and respectful dialogue for a broad range of perspectives on Palestine-related issues, developments and conversations of significant public interest. Publishing these discussions does not imply agreement with, endorsement of, or verification of every claim made by participants. Viewers are encouraged to engage critically and consult a range of sources.

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When it was launched in June 2025, millions of users joined UpScrolled in just a few weeks making it the fastest growing social media platform to date.


In this episode of Occupied Tech, UpScrolled’s Palestinian founder Issam Hijazi joins Paul Biggar of Tech for Palestine to discuss his journey of building an ethical alternative to Big Tech that rejects surveillance capitalism, and why the future of technology depends on values, not just growth.


From sabotage and censorship to ethical product design, the challenges of raising investment without compromising principles, and the future of social media, this conversation explores what it takes to build technology that serves people instead of exploiting them.


Occupied Tech is a podcast by Tech for Palestine in collaboration with Palestine Deep Dive. Each episode explores how the global tech industry fuels Israel’s apartheid, occupation, and genocide, while also highlighting the brave individuals and organisations working to dismantle this system of oppression.


👉 Support us by becoming a paid subscriber from as little as £1 a month. Your support helps us build independent Palestinian-led media in a world which has never needed it more urgently:

https://donorbox.org/support-palestine-deepdive


👉 Follow us:

https://x.com/PDeepDive

https://instagram.com/palestinedeepdive

https://facebook.com/palestinedeepdive


*DISCLAIMER:*

The views and opinions expressed by guests on Palestine Deep Dive are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial position of Palestine Deep Dive.


Palestine Deep Dive is committed to fostering informed, open and respectful dialogue for a broad range of perspectives on Palestine-related issues, developments and conversations of significant public interest. Publishing these discussions does not imply agreement with, endorsement of, or verification of every claim made by participants. Viewers are encouraged to engage critically and consult a range of sources.

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