The OHCHR report on the right to privacy in the digital age shows that Saudi Arabia and other countries are using digital tools against people and exposing them as a new method of human rights violations.
The report, which was published under the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, which was held from September 12 to October 7, 2022, addressed recent trends and challenges regarding the human right to privacy and identified relevant human rights principles, and was based on previous reports submitted to the Human Rights Council. The report highlights the real danger of creating systems of surveillance and control that may eventually stifle development and rights-respecting societies.
The report touched on the Pegasus program, which reports had confirmed that Saudi officials had bought it. In addition, it considered this program to be the most prominent example in the growing scene of spyware being marketed by companies to governments around the world. According to the researchers, at least 65 governments have acquired commercial spyware monitoring tools. He pointed out that these programs were used to target human rights defenders, dissidents, journalists, activists and politicians.
The report clarified the capabilities of spyware tools and services that are represented in accessing files and data, and in some cases geographical location, camera, messages, political thinking, financial situation and others. The report emphasized that targeting journalists and media outlets with piracy tools severely undermines media freedom, not least because information sources may be afraid to disclose it, and therefore the mere insinuation of the existence of piracy programs affects freedom of expression and the work of the media, in addition to affecting the right to legal proceedings. Duty and a fair trial.
The report referred to the information that the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings had confirmed about the electronic hacking of journalist Jamal Khashoggi before he was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey. The report was also based on human rights defender Loujain Al-Hathloul filing a complaint against a spying company that tried to hack her phone for the benefit of the Saudi government.
The report stressed that in light of the significant negative effects of the use of spyware, its use should be limited to cases in which it works to prevent or investigate a specific serious crime or an act that amounts to a serious threat to national security, and based on the approval of a judicial body.
The report concluded with some recommendations, including:
- Ensure that any interference with the right to privacy complies with international human rights law, including legitimate purpose, necessity and proportionality.
- Systematically assess human rights, when designing, developing, procuring, deploying, and operating monitoring systems.
- Adopt and effectively enforce data privacy legislation for the public and private sectors through independent, impartial and well-resourced authorities.
- Implementation of a moratorium on the sale and use of both local and national control systems.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights considers that the Commission's report confirmed Saudi Arabia's practice as a widespread violation of the right to privacy of individuals. In addition to the escalating course of repression and violations against activists. The organisation notes that in January 2020, United Nations special rapporteurs expressed concern about the information they received regarding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's violation of international human rights standards by publishing digital programs aimed at monitoring the owner of the Washington Post and Amazon CEO, Jeffrey Bezos.