Normalized surveillance and its impact on human rights defenders

Latin America is undergoing a period of profound political and technological transformation. In several countries across the region, the rise of governments that prioritize responses centered on security, public order, and the strengthening of the State’s coercive capacities coincides with the rapid expansion of digital surveillance technologies. This convergence is particularly concerning in a region that continues to record some of the highest levels of violence against human rights defenders, journalists, social leaders, and political opponents.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published its report on the protection of human rights defenders in the digital age, pursuant to the mandate established through Resolution 58/23. AlSur submitted its contribution to this report, recognizing the growing importance of this issue in the current context.

Based on AlSur’s analyses and the reflections arising from the contribution submitted as part of this process, we identified a series of risks, as well as recommendations that could help shape a proactive regional agenda on these issues:

The problem is growing

For the organizations that are part of AlSur, the expansion of artificial intelligence, biometric technologies, digital monitoring platforms, and private data infrastructures is changing the way States carry out security and control functions. These transformations are not inherently problematic. The challenge is that, across much of the region, they are taking place in contexts characterized by weak institutions, high levels of impunity, limited transparency, and regulatory frameworks that are insufficient to protect human rights.

In recent years, the organizations that make up AlSur have documented a troubling trend: technological surveillance is moving from being an exceptional tool to becoming a permanent component of public governance. The expansion of these capabilities affects not only rights such as privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to protest, but also the balance between security and democracy, increasing the possibilities for surveillance of those who play essential roles in holding power to account.

As documented by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero (report A/80/219), human rights defenders are among the groups most exposed to this transformation. Digital surveillance, the use of spyware, facial recognition, biometrics, coordinated disinformation campaigns, and new automated analytical capabilities increase the risks faced by those who document abuses, support communities, investigate corruption, or engage in public advocacy.

This situation is further compounded by the growing involvement of private companies in the development, operation, and commercialization of surveillance technologies. The privatization of functions traditionally carried out by the State creates new challenges for transparency, accountability, and democratic oversight, while decisions with far-reaching implications for fundamental rights are increasingly shifted into spaces subject to less public scrutiny.

We can think of this population as the canary in the coal mine. Based on the evidence gathered by AlSur, we can therefore state that these are not isolated cases, but rather part of a regional trend. The combination of increasingly expansive security policies, more sophisticated surveillance technologies, and insufficient democratic safeguards is creating a particularly adverse environment for human rights defenders and, in turn, for the health of Latin American democracies.

Eight risks identified by AlSur in the region

Based on evidence gathered over the past several years, AlSur has identified eight trends that should occupy a priority place on the regional agenda.

1. Surveillance is no longer exceptional

Research shows a steady increase in the use of technologies such as facial recognition, biometrics, communications interception, large-scale data analysis, and other digital monitoring tools. Their incorporation into public policy is turning surveillance into a permanent practice rather than an exceptional measure.

2. Laws expand State powers, but not oversight

In many countries, surveillance and security laws drafted before the digital era remain in force, while recent reforms have expanded State powers without introducing sufficient safeguards. Laws addressing cybercrime, cybersecurity, disinformation, or legislation that restricts the operations of organizations — such as anti-NGO laws in Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela — are also being used to restrict rights or expand surveillance powers.

3. Surveillance continues to be used abusively

AlSur organizations have documented cases involving unlawful interception, the use of spyware, surveillance targeting journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, as well as the collection of information later used in processes of criminalization or stigmatization.

4. Companies have become central actors in the surveillance ecosystem

Surveillance no longer depends exclusively on States. Technology companies design, supply, and operate much of the infrastructure used for surveillance, while procurement processes often remain opaque and subject to limited oversight.

5. Digital attacks have offline consequences

Online harassment, the exposure of personal information, smear campaigns, and disinformation rarely remain confined to the digital sphere. In numerous cases documented by AlSur, these attacks precede or accompany physical threats, legal proceedings, or violence against human rights defenders.

6. The impacts are not the same for everyone

Women human rights defenders, LGBTQI+ people, Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and rural populations face differentiated risks arising from historical inequalities that technologies can deepen.

7. Digital platforms are also part of the problem

Content moderation systems, cooperation between platforms and public authorities, and government access to personal data create new challenges for protecting those engaged in the defense of human rights.

8. Artificial intelligence amplifies existing risks and creates new ones

The automation of surveillance processes, algorithmic profiling, and the use of biometric systems increase both State and private-sector monitoring capabilities. These technologies, particularly facial recognition, reduce anonymity in public spaces and may facilitate the identification of individuals during protests, gatherings, or advocacy activities.

What does AlSur propose?

The evidence gathered by AlSur member organizations shows that the expansion of surveillance is not merely a technological challenge. Above all, it is a challenge to democracy and the rule of law.

AlSur therefore proposes advancing seven priority areas of action:

• Regulate surveillance technologies through a comprehensive human rights-based approach.
• Update legal frameworks governing surveillance, cybersecurity, and cybercrime by incorporating effective safeguards.
• Strengthen transparency, independent oversight, and accountability.
• Require companies to implement robust human rights due diligence processes and stronger transparency obligations.
• Regulate the use of artificial intelligence and biometric technologies through human rights impact assessments and restrictions on high-risk applications, such as facial recognition in public spaces.
• Incorporate digital security and protection against technological threats into protection mechanisms for human rights defenders.
• Promote participatory models of digital governance, with meaningful civil society participation in decisions concerning technologies that affect fundamental rights.

An agenda for Latin America

The expansion of surveillance in Latin America is neither an isolated nor a temporary phenomenon. It reflects deeper changes in the way States and companies manage security, data, and public space. The challenge, therefore, is not merely to respond to specific cases of abuse, but to understand the structural transformations that are taking place and to build democratic mechanisms capable of governing them.

It is important to keep this issue on the public agenda not only to ensure effective protection for human rights defenders, but also to safeguard the conditions that make it possible to exercise fundamental freedoms and sustain the functioning of our democracies—and, consequently, the economies of the region.

We invite you to read the report, reflect on the issues discussed here, explore the topic in greater depth by reviewing the contribution we submitted last April, and, above all, help keep this discussion on the public agenda.