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World in Progress: Surveillance Technology

Thomas Kruchem
June 9, 2021

A new EU regulation is supposed to limit European exports of surveillance technologies for nefarious reasons or to dictatorial regimes. But many contradictions remain, and critics fear European surveillance tools will continue to be used for purposes that violate human rights.

https://p.dw.com/p/3ueln

Surveillance cameras in the street, facial recognition algorithms or a clandestine software that monitors your emails - there are many ways to monitor people's activities. And these technologies are in high demand across the world - also by authoritarian governments that use them to crack down on critics and monitor political activists. There are many European companies, including German companies, that export these technologies around the world 

A new EU regulation is to limit European exports of these technologies for authoritarian regimes. But many contradictions remain, and critics fear European surveillance tools will continue to be used for purposes that violate human rights. 

 

Author: Thomas Kruchem

Presenter: Neil King