Published on: 2026-05-14
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The world has entered an era where a smartphone in your pocket, a camera at an intersection, and even public Wi-Fi can become part of a vast surveillance system. A new global UN expert report titled “Pushed into the Shadows” warns: digital tracking is no longer simply a tool for ensuring security – it is gradually changing people’s behavior, helping authorities suppress protests and destroying trust within society.
The authors of the study – UN Special Rapporteur on the freedom of assembly and association Gina Roemer, Professor Pit Fassi, and Doctor Dara Murray – gathered testimony from more than 150 activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and lawyers from 84 countries around the world, including the USA, China, Russia, Ukraine, India, and Egypt.
“We behave as if we are always being watched”
The main conclusion of the report’s authors is that people begin to change their behavior precisely because of the very feeling that they are constantly being watched. Researchers call this phenomenon the “chilling effect”.
Activists admit that they stop discussing sensitive topics online, avoid protests, change travel routes, and even their appearance. In Eswatini, research participants said that during any public activity, they automatically behave as if they are being watched.
In China, according to the interlocutors of the report’s authors, digital platforms like WeChat and Alipay have turned people’s everyday lives into a data stream that the state can analyze almost in real time.
Researchers emphasize: even in democratic countries, universities and government institutions increasingly use surveillance systems to control protest activity. For example, in Australia, some universities tracked students through university Wi-Fi during pro-Palestine rallies.
Cameras, drones, and artificial intelligence
The report describes the modern structure of observation tools as a single “ecosystem,” which includes cameras with facial recognition, drones, content analysis of social networks, geolocation tracking, collection of data from mobile operators, spyware programs like Pegasus, and behavior prediction systems based on artificial intelligence.
Experts are particularly concerned by the fact that these tools are beginning to operate jointly. For example, a city camera recording can automatically be cross-referenced with social media data, bank transactions, and a person’s movement history.
The authors believe that the world is moving from the principle of “minimal data collection” to a model where literally everything that can be collected is accumulated.
“Digital prison”
Indicative testimonies came from exiled Tibetan activists. They described the modern surveillance system in China as a “gigantic prison,” where digital control operates around the clock.
However, students of Columbia University in the USA report about thousands of cameras on campus, mandatory scanning of ID cards, and drones flying over protest areas. According to them, the atmosphere reigning at the university has changed so much that many students and professors feel like they are now “under constant surveillance.” Because of this, rally participants have started to hide their faces, change clothes, and avoid certain areas of the city after protests.
Why this is dangerous
UN experts warn: mass surveillance affects not only the right to privacy. Freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and even the ability of people to unite to protect their interests are under threat. When a person is afraid to attend a rally, send a message to colleagues, or support a social movement, democracy begins to collapse from within.
The report’s authors emphasize: journalists, human rights defenders, LGBTIQ activists, representatives of ethnic minorities, and youth become especially vulnerable.
Moreover, artificial intelligence systems often make mistakes when classifying racial and social groups. For example, in Brazil, biometric systems in schools have already misidentified dark-skinned children, resulting in them losing access to educational services.
“Normalization of surveillance”
The most alarming conclusion of the study’s authors is that society is gradually beginning to perceive total surveillance as the norm. Experts call this “normalization of surveillance”: states justify the expansion of control by fighting terrorism, crime, disinformation, and security threats, but as a result a new reality emerges where any citizen is potentially regarded as a suspect.
“Ghosts have become monsters. And these monsters are real,” summarize the authors of the report.
Special rapporteurs and working groups are part of the “special procedure” system. Experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff members and do not receive a salary from the organization for their work.
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