About
In the last few years, Argentina has witnessed an uptick in criminal law procedural reforms involving the digital sphere. There has been a significant expansion of digital investigative powers in local procedural codes without meaningful public debate.
This has led to a worrying situation, as these reforms empower local governments to procure offensive software without any oversight. The absence of federal or local regulations governing both public and private software procurement, coupled with the lack of minimum rights protections, exacerbates this concern.
Within this initiative, supported by the New Venture Fund, we brought together four organizations with extensive experience in the project’s key areas to conduct a diagnostic and situation mapping of public oversight on intrusive technology procurement, as well as to build capacity within civil society.
The project is being carried out by a consortium of civil society organizations with diverse profiles and complementary skills: Fundación Vía Libre, Observatorio de Derecho Informático Argentino (O.D.I.A.), Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), and Democracia en Red.
Objective
To strengthen regulation and accountability in the procurement and use of spyware by public entities in Argentina and Latin America. Through an approach grounded in research, advocacy, and capacity building, the project seeks to identify and mitigate the risks these technologies pose to individual and collective rights.
Spyware Alert
We prepared this analysis document to warn about the vulnerabilities that put Argentina at a very real risk of joining the list of countries where spyware is used for political persecution and the violation of basic rights.
In this report, we present the seven main risk factors identified in our country, with the goal of proposing preventive actions to strengthen the capacity of both the State and civil society to oversee the use of these highly invasive technologies. Additionally, the document features a closing section titled “When to Worry?”, offering guidance on how to spot potential spyware usage on your devices along with preventive recommendations.
International Meeting: State Surveillance Technologies, Democratic Oversight, and the Protection of Civic Space in Latin America
As part of the project, we hosted a two-day event featuring national and international guests, with working sessions tailored to various stakeholders (journalists, legal experts, civil society organizations, etc.).
In this context, we organized a public panel titled “What are the most alarming trends in surveillance technologies in Latin America?”, which was streamed live.
Cartographies of Opacity: Spyware, Public Procurement, and Regulatory Fragmentation in Argentina
We presented the results of a two-year investigation on intrusive technologies in Argentina at LAVITS, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In a presentation titled “Cartographies of Opacity: Spyware, Public Procurement, and Regulatory Fragmentation in Argentina” the panel was moderated by Beatriz Busaniche and brought together representatives from the four organizations forming the research consortium: CELS, Democracia en Red, ODIA, and Fundación Vía Libre.