PUBLICATION:
Spyware – the negation of human rights under the pretext of “security”
The point of departure for this analysis was the idea that spyware by its nature is indiscriminate, comprehensive and covert surveillance tool, structurally incompatible with the principles of necessity, proportionality and targeted data processing.
The Constitution, Criminal Procedure Code, Criminal Code and respective laws on intelligence services, electronic communication, personal data protection and information security have already set forth rigorous conditions for conducting secret monitoring, which spyware cannot meet in reality.
International standards and comparative practice have confirmed significant differences: massive “collateral” collection of third-person data, privacy undermining, compromising professional secrecy and protection of journalists’ sources, abuse of the pretext of “national security” and prevention of effective legal protection due to the secrecy of measures.
In Serbia, there are already documented cases of targeting journalists and activists, without any accountability of the persons responsible for that. The conclusion is self-explanatory: urgent prohibition of spyware is needed, as well as the prosecution of the so-far illicit practices.
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