{"id":35407,"date":"2025-11-04T11:35:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T10:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/?p=35407"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:34:40","slug":"freedoms-under-pressure-experts-warn-of-expanding-digital-surveillance-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/freedoms-under-pressure-experts-warn-of-expanding-digital-surveillance-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedoms Under Pressure: Experts Warn of Expanding Digital Surveillance Threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

The discussion brought together Nikola Risti\u0107<\/strong>, activist and spyware victim, Marta Pardavi<\/strong>, Co-Chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee<\/strong>, Ruairi Nolan<\/strong>, Deputy Programme Director at Amnesty International<\/strong>, and Aleksa Te\u0161i\u0107<\/strong>, journalist from BIRN<\/strong>, moderated by Predrag Petrovi\u0107<\/strong>, BCSP Research Director.<\/p>\n

\n

From Security to Surveillance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In his opening remarks, Predrag Petrovi\u0107<\/strong> underlined that the spyware industry has become a multi-billion-dollar global business, with governments increasingly using intrusive technologies to monitor citizens.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe defence industry is worth tens of billions of dollars, and the spyware sector alone exceeds ten billion. As our lives move online, and as Serbia slides deeper into autocracy, the question is – are we truly powerless, or are there solutions?\u201d Petrovi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Igor Bandovi\u0107, BCSP Director, noted that this discussion marks one of the first steps in establishing the Civil Society Digital Security Network<\/strong>, a BCSP initiative aimed at strengthening the digital resilience of civil society actors in the Balkans.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

A Firsthand Account of Surveillance and Intimidation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Activist Nikola Risti\u0107<\/strong> shared a harrowing personal account of kidnapping and intimidation by men claiming to be from Serbia\u2019s Security and Information Agency (BIA), after he announced a protest against corruption.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThey showed me BIA badges, but had no warrant or papers. One of them pointed a gun at me and said: \u2018You know we can break into your apartment at night and put you on the floor with guns.\u2019<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Risti\u0107 later discovered his phone had been infected with spyware.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI still haven\u2019t processed that I\u2019m a victim. They took my phone – luckily, it was a secondary one – and later I found out it had been infected,\u201d he said, adding that the experience underscored how vulnerable activists remain in Serbia.<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Journalists Under Watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Aleksa Te\u0161i\u0107<\/strong> from BIRN<\/strong> highlighted Serbia\u2019s long-standing links with Israeli surveillance technology, referencing documents from WikiLeaks and parliamentary hearings that revealed government and public company purchases of advanced monitoring tools.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSerbia has cameras and software capable of tracking anyone. We have proof of purchases for institutions like EPS. These tools are also used by political figures to spy on each other,\u201d Te\u0161i\u0107 explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Although Serbia has installed surveillance cameras in multiple towns, Te\u0161i\u0107 noted that it remains unclear whether the country is a regional leader in digital monitoring, despite government claims.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

The Hungarian Experience: Chilling Effects and Legal Gaps<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Drawing parallels with Hungary, Marta Pardavi<\/strong> described how surveillance and smear campaigns have been weaponised to silence civil society.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen it was revealed that Pegasus was used by the Hungarian government, officials claimed it was legal and not directed at citizens – which was demonstrably false,\u201d Pardavi said.
She warned that the \u201cchilling effect\u201d of constant fear and self-censorship has become the government\u2019s most effective tool.
\u201cWhen I listen to these discussions in Serbia, I fear that this is what may lie ahead,\u201d she cautioned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Despite legal battles and EU oversight, Pardavi said there has been little progress:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAdvocacy and understanding of the problem have grown, but progress in the legal framework is not on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

A Global Surveillance Crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to Ruairi Nolan<\/strong> of Amnesty International<\/strong>, the misuse of surveillance tools is not limited to authoritarian states.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are in the midst of a global surveillance crisis – one of the most pressing human rights challenges of our time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nolan pointed out that governments often justify spyware use as counterterrorism, but in reality, these tools are \u201cused against citizens, journalists, and political opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cEven in countries with strong rule of law, like Spain, we\u2019ve seen spyware used against Catalan political figures. The number of victims may be small, but the impact on free speech is enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He emphasised that existing laws have failed to keep pace with technology:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn Serbia, seizing someone\u2019s phone is treated as non-invasive, but once you access all the data, that is an extreme invasion of privacy. The law must recognise this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nolan concluded that while national regulation is possible, meaningful international oversight remains blocked by a lack of political will.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cGovernments invoke national security to justify everything. It\u2019s up to civil society to push for safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Next Steps: Building Resilience<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The discussion closed with calls for stronger international export controls on spyware technologies, greater accountability of private companies, and support for those affected.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMany companies claim to have human rights policies, yet their tools are repeatedly used to violate rights,\u201d Risti\u0107 warned. \u201cThis industry must be regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

BCSP\u2019s Civil Society Digital Security Network<\/strong>, launched through this event, aims to address precisely these challenges – by helping journalists, activists, and NGOs strengthen their digital resilience, share experiences, and push for democratic oversight of surveillance technologies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the panel discussion \u201cFreedoms Under Pressure: Civil Society and Digital Oversight in Serbia and Abroad\u201d, organised by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) on 31 October in Belgrade, speakers warned that digital surveillance and spyware use are rapidly becoming tools of political control in Serbia and across Europe, posing severe risks to human rights and democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":35414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8592,8606,11427,8610,8593,11155,8596,8591],"tags":[8462,9329,11444,11443,10961,8461,11132],"vest_saopstenje":[11439],"coauthors":[164],"class_list":["post-35407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","category-challenges-risks-and-threats","category-civil-society","category-cyber-security","category-digital-autocracy","category-digital-surveillance","category-oversight","category-serbian-security-policy","tag-activists","tag-civil-society","tag-civil-society-digital-security-network","tag-digital-surveillance-threats","tag-human-rights-defenders","tag-journalists","tag-panel-discussion","vest_saopstenje-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35407"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35450,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35407\/revisions\/35450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35407"},{"taxonomy":"vest_saopstenje","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vest_saopstenje?post=35407"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bezbednost.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}