Governments are using the pandemic to crack down on digital rights, report says

(CNN) – In their fight against the coronavirus, some governments are introducing digital surveillance and data collection tools that could pose an enduring threat to citizens’ rights, according to a new report from the research institute Freedom House.

The Freedom on the Net 2020 report, an assessment of 65 countries released on Wednesday, found that the pandemic has accelerated a decline in internet freedom of expression and privacy for the 10th year in a row, and accused some governments of using the virus as pretext for cracking down on critical discourse.

“The pandemic is accelerating society’s dependence on digital technologies at a time when the Internet is less and less free,” said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, which is funded by the US government. “Without adequate safeguards for privacy and the rule of law, these technologies can easily be reused for political repression.”

Amid the pandemic, Internet connectivity has become a lifeline for essential information and services, from educational platforms to healthcare portals, employment opportunities and social interactions. But state and non-state actors are also exploiting the crisis to erode freedoms online.

Nowhere has that approach been more evident than in China, according to Freedom House, which ranked the country the worst country for internet freedom for the sixth year in a row.

Since the coronavirus outbreak emerged in Wuhan last December, China has deployed every tool in its internet control arsenal, from digital surveillance to automated censorship and systematic arrests, to stop the spread, not just Covid- 19, but also from the unofficial ones. information and criticism of the government, the researchers found.

These practices are not unique to China, the report details.

Censoring the coronavirus outbreak

In an attempt to downplay the unfavorable coverage of COVID-19, authorities censored independent reports in at least 28 countries and arrested online critics in 45 countries, according to the report.

Following China’s example, governments from Bangladesh to Belarus blocked reports and websites that contradicted official sources, revoking credentials, and detaining journalists who questioned their statistics. In Venezuela, for example, the government banned a website with information on Covid-19 created by the opposition, while journalists were detained and forced to remove online content about the spread of the virus in hospitals.

Although misinformation about the coronavirus is a pandemic in and of itself, Freedom House says that at least 20 countries, including Thailand, the Philippines and Azerbaijan, imposed overly broad restrictions on speech, many of them new or expanded laws that control “false” information. , According to the report. In one of the most draconian cases, Zimbabwe passed an emergency provision criminalizing “false” information about Covid-19, which could put offenders at risk of up to 20 years in prison.

Allie Funk, a senior technology and democracy research analyst at Freedom House, who is a co-author of the report, said the long-term impact of these laws will be devastating for free speech, pointing to the self-censorship and climate of fear they create. .

“People are less likely to report certain issues because they don’t want to face criminal penalties or they don’t want to face harassment or targeted violence from government supporters online,” Funk said.

At least 13 countries went a step further, imposing internet shutdowns that kept the population completely in the dark. Long-term connectivity restrictions affecting phone and internet services in Ethiopia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, for example, severely limited the ability of residents to learn about the virus or obtain vital information about its spread.

Surveillance in the name of public health

Tracking the spread of the coronavirus is key to limiting more infections, a tactic that has been credited with the low death toll from Covid-19 in South Korea, for example. But without strong privacy protections, Freedom House warns that some technological responses to the pandemic could pave the way to future surveillance states.

In at least 30 countries, governments have invoked the pandemic to leverage telecommunications data for mass surveillance with little oversight, Freedom House said. In Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, among other places, such work is being carried out or in conjunction with national security agencies and the military.

Smartphone apps for contact tracing, applying quarantines and monitoring someone’s health status have been introduced in at least 54 countries, with few privacy protections, according to the report. In China, for example, dozens of health codes and contact tracing apps collect personal data that can be easily accessed by authorities. While in Singapore, migrant workers who already face discrimination should use apps, distinguishing them from other residents.

Although contact tracing plays a vital role in containing the virus, some digital monitoring tools are being implemented hastily and with little responsibility for how personal data, such as location, names, and contact lists, can be combined with the information. public with dangerous effects. And that could turn out to be a slippery slope, warns Freedom House.

“History has shown that technologies and laws adopted during a crisis tend to stick around,” said Adrian Shahbaz, director of technology and democracy and co-author of the report. “As with 9/11, we will look at COVID-19 as a time when governments gained intrusive new powers to control their populations.”

This story was first published on CNN.com, “Governments are using the pandemic to crack down on digital rights, according to a report.”