ECNL, Privacy International, International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), Agora, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, KontraS, Legal Resources Center, and Liberty responded to the call for input to the forthcoming global study on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on civil society and civic space.
The submitting organisations trust that the global study could counter narratives of securitisation driving ongoing counter-terrorism policies and inform future strategies. It could further assist states, companies, and other actors to cease counter-terrorism efforts that undermine the role and work of civil society across the globe, and to take the necessary measures to protect civil society against abuse
In our response we outline our concerns around:
- The repurposing of counter-terrorism measures for COVID-19 surveillance, and the normalisation and continued use of these surveillance measures following the pandemic. We highlight the findings from ECNL, Privacy International and INCLO report Under Surveillance: (Mis)use of Technologies in Emergency Responses.
- Targeted and mass surveillance, including government hacking. This can impact both the intended targets such as journalists, human rights defenders, activists and CSOs, as well as the right to privacy of wider society, in often unpredictable ways. We share examples of mass surveillance, as well as looking at the role of companies providing the technologies.
- Use of biometrics for identification and authentication with a focus on the specific concerns raised by the use of biometrics for counter-terrorism purposes. We share information on the human rights implications of collecting data which is fixed and unchangeable such as fingerprints, or using facial recognition cameras and provide examples. You can read more on Biometric Surveillance on ECNL Learning Center.