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| We are at the 11th Surveillance Studies Conference! |
| Surveillance in the Majority Network will be at the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference, 9-12 June 2026, Université Catholique de Lille, France. In this conference: – We have supported 33 scholars from Majority World countries to attend the conference, either in person or online. – We are hosting a panel on the surveillance of atrocities, featuring presentations by two of our board members, Dima Samaro and Azadeh Akbari. – Several members of the network’s board will be present during lunch on Wednesday, 10 June. Come and say hello! We have prepared a list of all presentations related to surveillance research in the Majority World at the conference: discover more here |
| News and Reports |
| Solidarity AI and the choices facing Thailand The article discusses Microsoft’s data center plans in Thailand and questions whether this truly advances data sovereignty. It notes that Southeast Asians show high enthusiasm for AI, but asks who controls AI development and whether community-led alternatives can take root before dependency locks in. The article aims to include local voices often missing from global AI debates. Read more here. Enormous data pipelines powering major generative AI systems are rooted in mass invasions of privacy by design. Amnesty International documents how unlawful web scraping for generative AI enables mass privacy violations, making these systems unlawful by design. The briefing also covers environmental harms and impacts on marginalized communities. Read more here. European Union: Surveillance Technology Sold to Rights Violators A new Human Rights Watch report finds that EU member states regularly license exports of surveillance tech to governments with histories of spying on activists and journalists. Despite EU regulation, mechanisms of oversight are flawed, and the Commission has circumvented meaningful transparency. The report calls for stronger human rights due diligence and enforcement. Read more here. Platform Cooperatives and the State: Lessons from Brazil’s Public Policies (2023–2025) The report shows Brazil invested $2.6 million USD in public platforms for driver and delivery cooperatives, with participatory policy formulation. However, it also identifies judicial setbacks, legislative stagnation, and lack of procurement mechanisms or tax incentives. The findings provide a framework for understanding how states can enable or obstruct democratic alternatives to platform capitalism. Read more here. Data of 600,000 Gaza households exposed in WFP cyber-attack The article discusses the lack of safeguards against the protection of personal data within humanitarian aid. Aid recipients received notification about a data breach affecting more than 600,000 Gazans by the World Food Programme. Within the article, Aaron Martin discusses how data breaches of this kind ultimately increases the vulnerability of those receiving aid without providing sufficient guardrails for prevention and protection. Read more here. How Sisi’s Militarized Urbanism is Remaking Egypt Adapted from journalist and activist Hossam el-Hamalawy’s new book Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi’s New Republic, this essay discusses the tactics through which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his government is building what is likened to a “perfect military camp” within Egypt’s urban cities. Under the auspices of Egypt’s smart cities strategy, Sisi announced plans to build 14 smart cities throughout the country with some areas being monitored by over 28,000 CCTV cameras. The essay and the book further investigates the implications of the securitization and militarization of Egypt’s urban landscape on counterrevolutionary efforts. Read more here. Taliban “National Keyboard” App Risks User Surveillance, Says Cybersecurity Researchers Cybersecurity research platform RaazNet has analysed a keyboard app developed by the Taliban-controlled National Radio and Television, finding that while it cannot definitively classify it as spyware, the app converts users’ typed text into prompts sent to external AI systems, logs sensitive data insecurely, and creates a high-risk environment for surveillance. The report also flags concerns about technical cooperation between the Taliban and Iran in developing surveillance-capable software and does not recommend the app for journalists, civil society activists, women, or other vulnerable users. Read the article here. |
| Research |
| Transgressive Tech: The Privatization of the Public Interest Edited by Linnet Taylor, Aaron Martin, Siddharth Peter de Souza, Joan Lopez Solano, Ouejdane Sabbah, and Franklyn Ohai, this open-access collection of essays draws on case studies from countries including Malaysia, Ethiopia, Greece, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and others to examine how technology companies establish themselves in new markets and sectors, capturing public functions and infrastructures in ways that raise critical concerns for democratic legitimacy and accountability. Starting from shifts in technology politics and governance brought by the pandemic, the book charts tech firms’ entry into critical public sectors, including healthcare, welfare, and education, showing how market capture is facilitated by diminished ethical and legal oversight and weakened public contestability. Freely available to download here. AI Hype Through an African Lens: A Critical Analysis of Language as Symbolic Action in Online News Publications. Analysing 724 articles from 26 Anglophone African countries, the study finds Western authors dominate coverage, focusing on technical and economic aspects of AI. Most AI articles appear in technology or business sections, suggesting a utilitarian view that prioritizes practical applications over broader societal implications. The study develops a framework for understanding how African news media fuel AI hype. Read more here. Digital Geopolitics and Technology Exports to Africa: A Critical Examination of Private Vendors Using Critical Discourse Analysis of vendor presentations at ID4Africa, the article shows how biometric technologies are framed as tools for efficiency and security while costs and equity remain underaddressed. It argues that private vendors act as intermediaries who shape norms and governance of biometric infrastructures. Read more here. “Pushed into the Shadows”: Evidencing Digital Surveillance Chilling Effects and the Erosion of the Rights to Freedom of Assembly and of Association This extensive research study published by Gina Romero, Pete Fussey, and Daragh Murray from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, documents the chilling effects of digital surveillance on crucial human rights pillars such as the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, and participation. Based on interviews of more than 150 activists, human rights defenders, and journalists from diverse geopolitical contexts, the report addresses the omnipresent nature of digital surveillance and its increased threat to democracy. Read the study here. |
| Events and Opportunities |
| Digital Justice Fund (Deadline: 21 June 2026) Weaving Liberation has launched the first Digital Justice Fund in Europe, distributing €500,000 to movements working toward liberatory digital futures. Built on participatory principles, funding decisions are made by a peer circle of people with lived experience of systemic harms, and priority is given to groups led by historically and structurally excluded communities. Open to registered and unregistered groups, formal and informal collectives, and NGOs working on digital justice across the Council of Europe. More information and application materials here. Global Online Course: AI Without Bosses. This course examines alternative ownership models for AI, focusing on cooperative principles and solidarity economy values. It explores shared data, public digital infrastructure, and democratic oversight as disruptions to extractive AI models. The course runs alongside the Solidarity AI Conference in Bangkok in November 2026. More information here. |
| Art and Interventions |
| The AI Resist List A new project documents roughly 30 examples of resistance to AI empires worldwide, organized by how they pressure different “Pillars of Support.” It also showcases eight “Possible Futures” – existing alternatives to Silicon Valley’s extractive AI development. The list aims to show that resistance is widespread and anyone can shape AI’s future. Read more here. The Antipode Film Project: Surveillance City Directed by Harjant Gill and Pearl Sandhu and featuring Professor Inderpal Grewal, this short film journeys through contemporary Delhi to examine state surveillance and securitisation under conditions of extreme inequality. It explores themes of militarism, populism, policing, and dissent in a postcolonial context. The film is accompanied by an essay and further readings for educational and activist use. Read more and watch the film here. |
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| Surveillance in The Majority World Research Network aims to expand the scope of surveillance studies to include non-Northern/Western discourses and practices. It is a place for exchange, collaboration, and activism against the undemocratic use of surveillance technologies. |