Illegal surveillance as a global challenge to democracy : the Catalangate case

The Citizen Lab has documented cases of illegal surveillance in countries like Mexico, Jordan, Hungary, Poland and more recently, in Spain. At least 65 people in Catalonia have been attacked with Pegasus and Candiru spywares, between 2015 and 2021. This case, known as Catalangate, is the largest forensically documented cluster of mercenary spyware attacks and infections, and the biggest espionage case in the world using Pegasus until now.

Unlawful targeted surveillance of journalists, activists, opposition figures, critics and others exercising their fundamental rights pose a serious threat to human rights. This issue has prompted resolutions by the UN General Assembly and have been specifically highlighted by UN experts and by several reports by Special Rapporteurs, among them the 2019 report on the dangerous impact of surveillance technology on human rights by the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression.

During this conference, the speakers analyse the relationship between technology and human rights, the effects of surveillance on civil society and democracy. They also take a close look at the particularities of the Catalangate case and others that occurred in Mexico, Jordan and Bahrain.

With

Karlos Castilla, Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya

John Scott Railton (online), The Citizen Lab

David Oliva (online), Front Line Defenders

Yesica Sánchez (online), Consorcio Oaxaca, member of World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Anna Colom (online), Democratic Society

Jordi Cuixart, Òmnium Civil Rights Europe