Tag Archives: Surveillance

12Jan/24

Facial recognition in Brazil: absent students and racial bias

By Diana Baptista | Data Journalist

A facial recognition system used in schools in Brazil is being scrutinised by digital rights groups, who have denounced the expansion of so-called techno control in the country. Continue reading

06Oct/23

Exporting surveillance to Africa

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

20Sep/23

Surveillance in the age of WhatsApp webinar by the London Stock Exchange Group of companies (LSEG)

The key takeaways of the “Surveillance in the age of WhatsApp” webinar by the London Stock Exchange Group of companies (LSEG) are as follows: Continue reading

26Jul/23

São Paulo fights facial recognition

By Diana Baptista | Data Journalist

Digital rights groups in Brazil protested against Smart Sampa, a government program seeking to install 20,000 security cameras with facial recognition technology in São Paulo by 2024.

Using drones, the groups projected slogans like “No More Invasive Surveillance” and “Respect our Rights” on building walls. Continue reading

03Mar/23

ID of 93 million Nigerians at risk in landmark election

  • Facial recognition and fingerprints needed to cast votes
  • Privacy experts fear mass breach of Nigerians’ identity
  • Aim is to root out widespread electoral fraud

LAGOS – Africa’s biggest electorate votes on Saturday in a poll that experts fear could unleash a mass breach of privacy as Nigerians relinquish reams of personal data to cast their vote.
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03Mar/23

Snooping on campaigners

By Kim Harrisberg | South Africa correspondent

From phishing traps to arrests based on their social media posts alone, activists from Russia to Uganda say they’re increasingly being watched for their online campaigning.
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19Jan/23

Digital welfare dystopia

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.
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28Nov/22

Gangs, drill music, and police databases

The Met has overhauled its ‘Gangs Violence Matrix’ database following a legal challenge by human rights organisation, Liberty. The tool is used by the police force to identify and monitor people suspected of being involved in gang-related crime.
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21Nov/22

Neurotechnology Announces the Release of SentiVeillance Cluster, Ready-to-Use Software for Surveillance Systems with Clustered Architecture Implementation for Smart-city-scale Projects

Neurotechnology, a provider of deep learning-based solutions and high-precision biometric identification technologies, today announced the release of SentiVeillance Cluster for real-time biometric face identification, tracking of people and vehicles and automatic vehicle license plate recognition. The solution has been designed for expansive surveillance systems supporting continuous video streams from multiple servers. It provides operators with structured and sorted live data, enabling faster decision-making in a variety of scenarios, including law enforcement, security and smart city monitoring applications. Continue reading

17Nov/22

The ads are watching you

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Targeted online advertisements are impossible to ignore. Ads based on our browsing history, geolocation, and personal information appear constantly on our social media feeds, news articles, and streaming platforms. As the authors of a new report on the advertising surveillance industry put it: “Targeted advertising is unavoidable for anyone who owns a smartphone or goes online.”
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