The Observatory seeks to share information between organizations, to better understand how this pandemic could shape the future local and regional landscape regarding the use of personal data and surveillance technologies. This, in turn, allows us to develop joint actions to promote and encourage respect for fundamental rights in the implementation of digital technology.
The main objectives of the Observatory are:
- Mapping the digital technologies implemented by the governments of Latin America which aim at collecting information from the population in the context of COVID-19.
- Informing debates and raising awareness among human rights defenders and the general public about the scope and impact of these surveillance technologies and data collection practices, and the potential threats to human rights.
- Understanding the regional main trends, the legal protections concerning the implementation of actions by governments and the challenges to human rights that we anticipate once the crisis is in the past.
The Al Sur Observatory on Surveillance Technologies and Pandemics has been developed thanks to a grant from Open Society Foundations.