Tag Archives: Mass surveillance

09Jan/26

The Vigilance Blueprint: A Framework for Community-Led Counter-Surveillance

January 9, 2026SecurityAutomatic number-plate recognition, Countersurveillance, Crime prevention, Hanwha, HIKVISION, Internet privacy, Law enforcement, Mapillary, Mass surveillance, Motorola, National security, National Security Agency, Pan–tilt–zoom camera, Privacy, Security, SHOTSPOTTER, Surveillanceadmin

Jan. 9, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — This initiative, modeled on the Surveillance Watch concept, empowers citizens to transition from passive subjects of monitoring to active participants in privacy oversight. By leveraging a decentralized network of volunteers, the project creates a high-resolution, grassroots map of surveillance infrastructure—such as facial recognition cameras, license plate readers, and cell-site simulators. The framework addresses the inherent risks of community activism (such as data inaccuracy and volunteer safety) Continue reading →

06Oct/23

Exporting surveillance to Africa

October 6, 2023SecurityChina, Closed-circuit television, Crime prevention, Ghana, Human rights, International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance, Israel, Jimmy Kainja, Kampala, Kim, Malawi, Mass surveillance, Morocco, National security, Nigeria, Privacy, Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act, Seoul, South Africa, South Korea, Surveillance, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zambiaadmin

By Kim Harrisberg | South Africa correspondent

Privacy experts are calling for citizens to be protected from growing surveillance in Africa, following a new report by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN).

Their report, “Mapping the supply of surveillance technologies to Africa” focuses on Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Malawi and Zambia importing surveillance tech from countries including the U.S., Britain, China, Israel as well as the EU amounting to more than $1bn every year. Continue reading →

19Jan/23

Digital welfare dystopia

January 19, 2023SecurityAtos, Australia, Brisbane, China, Crime prevention, Data mining, Internet privacy, Law enforcement, Lina Dencik, Machine learning, Manchester, Mass surveillance, Melanie Klieve, Melbourne, National security, Netherlands, Philip Alston, Prevention, Profiling, Qian Ji Data Co, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Security, Skills, Surveillance, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdomadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Algorithms to determine welfare payments and detect fraud are becoming standard practice around the world. From Manchester to Melbourne, peoples’ lives are being shaped by secretive tools that determine who is eligible for what, and how much debt is owed.

Although the technology has been around for some time, the outbreak of COVID-19 renewed enthusiasm for the digital welfare state and, for thousands of cash-strapped public bodies, the promise of increased efficiency and lower costs has proven irresistible.
Continue reading →