ICTlogy

Abstract:

“Mass Surveillance in the Maghreb and the Mashreq: A Critical Analysis to Protect Civil Society Space” documents the use of new technologies such as spyware, drones, as well as digital extortion practices and legal frameworks serving the censorship and repression of social movements, media outlets, and dissidents in Morocco, Western Sahara, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.

This report is a follow-up to “Mass Surveillance and the Control of Dissent in Europe,” a previous investigation that highlighted the use of these technologies by European governments. We now expand our focus to the Maghreb and the Mashreq, two regions where there is a clear pattern: predominantly European, American, and Israeli companies develop technology often tested in contexts of serious human rights violations, especially in occupied territories. This technology is acquired by authoritarian regimes, where a network of organizations, companies, and institutions collaborate to repress dissidents and social movements,” and that many of these governments “rely on the support of the West, which endorses these repressive practices.”

The report denounces the legal vacuum that exists in the sector, where technology companies and the surveillance industry operate in a virtually unregulated environment, becoming a key element of the repressive architecture. This has led to the normalization of illegal practices by some states, which use these tools to perpetuate control and repression. In this context, artificial intelligence further exacerbates the dynamics of discrimination and control of minorities.

The Mediterranean region is experiencing a severe limitation of civic space, essential for the exercise and defense of fundamental rights. New technologies are reinforcing inequalities, facilitating the systematic violation of rights, and silencing dissidents who fight against this authoritarian drift. The lack of specific regulations and legal frameworks governing the use of mass surveillance is allowing governments to abuse these technologies in the name of "national security" and the "fight against terrorism."