Big Brother in the Middle-East and North Africa: The expansion of imported surveillance technologies and their supportive legislation

Abstract

The article analyses digital surveillance companies and the possibilities that technology makes available to oppressive regimes: from monitoring centres facilitating mass surveillance on all telecommunications, to firewalls that filter what users can access, and spyware that tap into the information stored in any personal device connected to the internet. This grim picture of new technologies becomes significantly darker when taking into account the volume of this ‘international repression trade’ and the market value of surveillance companies operating in states self-identified as democracies. Key words: digital rights; surveillance; cyber-crime legislation; right to privacy; freedom of expression; national security; cyberwar; information technology; human rights defenders