Annual report 2025

The year 2025 presented a challenging landscape for human rights in digital environments.

The world witnessed serious crises: devastating armed conflicts in Africa and Europe, genocide in Palestine, multilateral tensions, and a worrying apathy on the part of states and companies in the face of the climate crisis. Added to this is the contraction of international cooperation and greater direct participation by large technology companies in political decisions and processes in the region and around the world.

Despite the work of activists and organizations, 2025 saw continued advances in government-backed surveillance and control technologies, along with the consolidation of power by large technology companies that show less commitment than before to the protection of human rights.

In terms of global digital governance, 2025 was a year of significant agreements but limited progress. After arduous negotiations, the 20-year review process of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) concluded with a final report that reaffirmed the multistakeholder model and established the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as a permanent venue. This outcome preserved valuable commitments – such as closing digital access gaps and preventing adverse impacts of technology, including gender-based violence – although several organizations noted that there were missed opportunities during the process to strengthen meaningful civil society participation and stronger human rights safeguards.

The regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) remained contested throughout 2025. In February, the European Union’s AI Act came into effect. Inspired by this model, some Latin American countries advanced their own regulatory proposals: in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Bolivia. Peru, a pioneering country in AI regulation, published the first regulations for its law. In this context, organizations in the region stressed the need to ground AI development in a framework of rights and equity.

Freedom of expression online found itself at a regulatory crossroads. Several countries proposed laws to regulate digital platforms and content. In Peru, Congress debated a bill that sought to require mandatory licenses for digital content creators and to sanction the dissemination of “false information” — measures that could encourage self-censorship in digital media. Although these initiatives are still pending, they demonstrate the priority that several governments placed on controlling online discourse, which will merit special attention in 2026.

On the other hand, some judicial developments were favorable to freedom of expression. In June, Colombia’s Constitutional Court protected an influencer’s rights by ordering Meta to restore her account and to ensure notification and appeal mechanisms for its users. In October, the Supreme Court of Chile rejected a “right to be forgotten” petition, affirming that deleting or de-indexing truthful news of public interest constitutes censorship — thus cementing the principle that freedom of expression prevails over reputation in matters of public interest.

However, there were also serious authoritarian setbacks. In Panama, the government suspended internet and mobile phone services in one province during social protests in June — a measure harshly criticized for violating freedom of expression, the right of assembly, and access to information.

Another issue of concern was — and continues to be — the UN Convention on Cybercrime. AlSur organizations have voiced caution regarding this instrument because it could expand governments’ surveillance powers. Without due process or democratic oversight, governments could share sensitive personal data or prosecute human rights defenders under vague “cybercrime” charges.

Finally, technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) gained greater visibility in 2025, along with nascent regulatory responses to a problem exacerbated by technology. International bodies devoted special attention to this phenomenon, calling for stronger laws, an end to impunity, and holding digital platforms accountable. Toward the end of the year, the Organization of American States (OAS) introduced the Inter-American Model Law to Prevent and Punish Digital Violence against Women, conceived as a legal standard for countries to adapt into their national laws.

In summary, the balance sheet for 2025 in terms of digital rights is paradoxical. On the one hand, the IGF mandate was maintained and progress was made on regulations. But at the same time, at the geopolitical level, governments tightened their practices and allied themselves with large technology companies. However, this complex reality only served to confirm the founding mission that AlSur and its member organizations have taken on. In the face of such enormous challenges, the only way forward is collective: the experience of 2025 shows that only through regional collaboration, multi-stakeholder coordination, and solidarity among organizations can we protect the digital environment as a space for human rights.
 

AlSur in 2025

In 2025, the AlSur consortium maintained its operational structure and added a new Advocacy Coordinator. This position was formalized to provide specialized support in managing and facilitating thematic working groups and in designing joint advocacy strategies.

The consortium also intensified its internal coordination efforts. Throughout the year, multiple meetings were held, including two in-person gatherings – in Oslo and Buenos Aires – which strengthened the bonds between member organizations. These meetings allowed for reflection on AlSur’s governance and initiated the discussion of a new strategic cycle to respond to current changes in the global context. Progress was made in more clearly defining AlSur’s future role, the scope of its advocacy, and the operationalization of consensus-based decision-making mechanisms.

A central focus of AlSur’s work in 2025 was the production of two research studies on surveillance trends in the region, intended to inform public debate and promote frameworks for rights protection. As a result of collaborations between member organizations and external experts, two high-impact reports were published:

The first study, “Tendencias y prácticas de vigilancia en América Latina” (“Trends and Practices of Surveillance in Latin America”), explores how surveillance practices have expanded rapidly in recent years, fueled by the advance of digital technologies and the absence of adequate regulations. Through cases analyzed in several countries (including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Paraguay), the report shows the growing adoption of video surveillance systems, facial recognition tools, social media monitoring, and mass data collection by state agencies. The report warns about the normalization of these practices under urgent narratives (for example, the fight against crime or the management of health crises) that weaken public scrutiny. It also highlights the active involvement of private companies and international actors in providing these technologies, generally without legal frameworks that guarantee the protection of fundamental rights such as privacy, freedom of expression, or non-discrimination. A cross-cutting finding is that the region is facing a silent expansion of surveillance systems: without sufficient public debate or oversight, these tools are being integrated into everyday state practices.

The second report, titled “Reconocimiento facial y tecnologías de vigilancia en América Latina: casos, proveedores y dinámicas comerciales” (“Facial Recognition and Surveillance Technologies in Latin America: Cases, Vendors and Commercial Dynamics”), focused on the deployment of facial biometric identification systems and other surveillance technologies in public policy across the region. This investigative journalism piece updates and expands a previous regional mapping conducted by AlSur in 2021, revealing striking findings: 83 facial recognition initiatives were identified in 15 Latin American countries, evidencing sustained growth in the adoption of these tools since that initial study. The report analyzes the use of the technology mainly in public spaces, border control, and government services, where its implementation has become especially common for purposes of public security and migration control. The research succeeded in profiling the main commercial providers behind the expansion of these technologies in the region. Leading global companies in the surveillance industry stand out — such as IDEMIA, NEC, Dahua, and Hikvision — that have supplied equipment and software to multiple Latin American governments. Alongside them, local players are also operating, in partnership or under license, helping to spread these solutions. The report further explores the geopolitical and business dynamics linked to the acquisition of surveillance technologies, highlighting the influence of powers like China and the United States in supplying equipment and financing. In the end, the report emphasizes the urgent need for greater transparency, human rights impact assessments, and a broad public debate on the use of surveillance technologies in the region.

Throughout 2025, AlSur expanded and systematized its participation in major international forums, consolidating its role as a collective Latin American voice in the global debate. One of the first major engagements of the year was the presence of several consortium members at RightsCon 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan. AlSur’s member organizations brought to Taipei a diverse and strategic agenda, with sessions and panels focused on the main challenges facing Latin America: privacy and personal data protection, AI regulation, women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights online, access to digital justice, and the fight against mass surveillance, among others. For example, AlSur co-organized panels on AI regulation in Latin America (analyzing the risks of techno-solutionism versus Europe’s regulatory influence), on holding technology companies accountable in the face of human rights complaints, and on joint efforts to preserve the privacy of migrants, to name a few.

In parallel, AlSur adopted a more strategic and planned approach for its participation in other key international forums. Under the leadership of the new Advocacy Coordinator, the consortium mapped and prioritized the spaces to focus on, with the goal of better leveraging its collective resources. In 2025, three priority forums were identified in AlSur’s joint advocacy agenda, given their relevance for digital rights in the region:

WSIS+20 Process (20-year WSIS Review): AlSur closely followe

WSIS+20 Process (20-year WSIS Review): AlSur closely followed this process, recognizing it as a critical space to influence global Internet governance. In March, the consortium submitted a written contribution to the WSIS+20 consultation, highlighting achievements to be preserved (such as the creation of the IGF and the nascent inclusion of a gender perspective) but also urging reinforcement of the multistakeholder model and ensuring that participation mechanisms incorporate a human rights perspective. Members of AlSur (such as Derechos Digitales) coordinated with other international NGOs through the Global Digital Rights Coalition to align strategies. Finally, several AlSur representatives participated in the WSIS+20 closing conference and in side events during IGF 2025, ensuring that Latin American voices were heard in the evaluation of these 20 years of digital governance.

UN Cybercrime Convention: Given the importance of this new global treaty (adopted in late 2024) and its potential negative impacts on the region, AlSur formed a working group focused on monitoring the Convention on Cybercrime. Member organizations that were already working on the issue – such as Derechos Digitales, R3D, Karisma, and Hiperderecho, among others – led this initiative. Throughout 2025, analyses were shared about the prior negotiation sessions and the main concerns (for example, the lack of distinction between pure cybercrimes and common crimes committed using technology).

X Summit of the Americas (OAS): Anticipating that the Tenth Summit of the Americas, scheduled for late 2025, would address aspects of digital transformation and Internet governance in the hemisphere, AlSur decided to actively engage in that process. Although AlSur had historically focused more on global rather than hemispheric forums, in 2025 it joined for the first time a collective inter-American civil society initiative to influence the Summit’s agenda. Together with organizations like Article 19, the Wikimedia Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the consortium co-signed and published a joint submission with digital rights recommendations for the Summit. To follow up on this stance, AlSur organized a virtual informational meeting on October 6 for government delegates from the region, especially those from foreign ministries and missions to the OAS. The response was positive: several delegates showed interest in the perspectives presented and agreed to continue the dialogue in the weeks prior to the Summit. Nevertheless, the Summit of the Americas was ultimately suspended.

As part of its mission to strengthen capacities and expand the digital rights community in the region, AlSur in 2025 carried out the third edition of its onboarding (orientation) course on digital rights. This training program, started in 2021, seeks to impart to new team members of AlSur’s organizations the accumulated knowledge from the consortium’s experience. The 2025 edition of the course introduced important new content and formats, ensuring greater reach and updated subject matter.

In July and August, work was done to update the curriculum, including a new module on AI and the environment. Likewise, all educational material was updated with the latest trends up to 2025, incorporating Latin American cases and examples and including references to that year’s regulatory developments (such as the new AI laws or the cybercrime debates). The online version of the course was launched in the second half of September 2025, and an in-person session was held in October, alongside the annual CELE workshop.

This educational effort lays the groundwork for more informed and capable participation in discussions on digital policy, nourishing the civic space with new voices prepared to defend human rights in the digital environment.

Final Reflections and Challenges for 2026

Amid a regional and international context marked by tensions, AlSur — through its members — consolidated several important achievements and engaged in significant discussions.

Although institutionally one could say that AlSur emerges strengthened, the reality is that the human rights context and the state of the organizational ecosystem at the regional and global levels are in a difficult moment. Today there are not only more situations of concern and risk, but the tools with which we face them are also weakened. A key lesson for the future will be the capacity for adaptability, resilience and, above all, collaboration.

On the programmatic front, AlSur achieved a high level of synchronization of its regional and international advocacy efforts in 2025. The identification of priority forums and greater coordination marked a milestone in the way of working together. The challenge will be to follow up and deepen those advocacy fronts that have been opened. For example, after the adoption of the Cybercrime Convention, the next phase will be national implementations. AlSur will have to support its members in each country to influence the drafting of domestic laws that reflect human rights standards or, if necessary, to resist regressive regulations inspired by the treaty. Likewise, after WSIS+20, attention turns to the development of the Global Digital Compact toward 2026: AlSur will need to ensure that the Latin American perspective remains present in the discussions of the UN Summit of the Future, demanding that lofty declarations translate into tangible commitments. All these processes will require perseverance and coordination on the part of the consortium, as well as flexibility to react to unforeseen events (electoral, social or technological) that may arise along the way.

The external context in 2026 will likely continue to present great tensions between, on the one hand, new international norms and agreements, and on the other, the persistence of authoritarian, control-oriented trends in the digital realm. It is foreseeable that Latin American states will face pressures from both global powers and tech companies in defining their digital policies — whether in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence or other emerging topics. In this landscape, AlSur will have to redouble its efforts to amplify the voice of civil society and promote regional standards that curb the impulse toward surveillance and regression. A crucial challenge will be to bring the knowledge generated and AlSur’s recommendations to national arenas, grounding global advocacy in local changes. To that end, the consortium plans to strengthen coordination with national networks and organizations, so that collective proposals resonate in legislatures, courts and public agendas in each country.

In conclusion, AlSur approaches 2026 with considerable caution. While we reaffirm our conviction that the defense of digital rights must be collective, intersectional and rooted in solidarity, the paradox highlighted in the global balance of 2025 reminds us that our stance is also a political one. In 2026, we will remain united, learning from our successes and mistakes, so that Latin America’s digital environment becomes more and more a space of democracy and human rights guaranteed for all people.