Use of Pegasus in cyberespionage of journalists and opponents confirmed
El Salvador Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed On January 12, the joint research of the multidisciplinary laboratory of the University of Toronto, The Citizen Lab, and the CSO Access Now revealed that between July 2020 and November 2022, 35 people were affected by the Pegasus spying software, among them watchdog journalists and members […]
Concern grows over possible cyber-surveillance of journalists, activists and opponents
El Salvador Impact | Negative Civicus Rating| Obstructed On November 23, a group of journalists, opposition politicians and CSO referents received an alert on their cell phones from Apple, warning them that they could be victims of espionage by “state-sponsored attackers” due to their activity and interference in the political and social life of the […]
The Senate moves forward with a novel regulation on the privacy of neural data
Chile Impact | Positive Probability | High CIVICUS Rating | Obstructed At the end of September, the Senate debated three bills that aim to respond to the novel challenges posed by research in neurosciences and neurotechnologies in terms of integrity, mental indemnity and privacy of individuals. In other words, they seek to anticipate the possible […]
Spying and control: the Pegasus Project and the use of technology for public surveillance
Latin America Technological advances have demonstrated, in multiple opportunities, their benefits to strengthen transparency and citizen participation processes. However, in recent times we have seen how they have been used to deepen state control mechanisms. The recent revelations of the Pegasus Project exposed this. In July 2021, an international journalistic investigation unveiled the abuse perpetrated […]
Supreme Court temporarily suspends the implementation of the Mobile Telephony Users’ Registry
Mexico Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN in Spanish) ordered the transitory suspension of the legislative decree that creates a registry of cell phone users and obliges telephone companies to request biometric data of their clients. The ruling comes in response to the judicial appeal […]
INAI and IFT challenged a decree involving data collection from cell phone users
Mexico Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed At the end of April, the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI, in Spanish) filed an action of unconstitutionality before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) against the decree that creates a registry of cell phone users […]
Mobile phone companies, obliged by law to share the personal information of their users
Mexico Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Repressed On April 16, President Obrador enacted a legislative decree creating a National Registry of Mobile Telephone Users – that is, a database holding personal information to be used to fight crimes such as extortion and kidnapping. Telecommunications service providers will be responsible for collecting and registering information […]
Intelligence agencies will no longer be able to participate in criminal investigations
Argentina Impact | Positive Civicus Rating | Narrowed While a case is advancing for alleged illegal espionage maneuvers during the government of former President Mauricio Macri, the Senate endorsed a decree in March that modifies Law 25.520 on National Intelligence by prohibiting cooperation between intelligence agencies and the criminal justice system, the performance of repressive […]
Amid a climate of political tension, Congress will monitor judicial wiretapping
Argentina Impact | Negative Rating CIVICUS | Narrowed On June 30, the presidents of both Houses of Congress signed a joint resolution, designating the Bicameral Committee for the Supervision of Intelligence Agencies and Activities responsible for following up on activities carried out by the Directorate for Criminal Justice Assistance Complexes, a body under the jurisdiction of […]
Congress looks into claims of illegal espionage of journalists, organizations and politicians
Argentina Impact | Negative Rating CIVICUS | Narrowed On May 28, the Bicameral Committee for the Control of Intelligence Organizations and Activities met to analyze an illegal espionage complaint by the head of the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI), Cristina Caamano. As detailed in the complaint, information on some 500 people linked to the political world, […]