Argentina: Monitoring with chainsaws

Argentina's government under President Javier Milei has significantly expanded surveillance capabilities within the country, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The organization claims that during the first two years of Milei’s presidency, increased use of surveillance technologies has enhanced state monitoring powers and contributed to profiling and repression. This expansion, the report argues, has had a chilling effect on privacy rights and freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. The report, titled “Sensing the Surveillance State,” documents how the government implemented broad institutional reforms aimed at strengthening its intelligence and police capacities, thereby expanding its surveillance mechanisms. According to Amnesty, these changes have bolstered the ability of the Argentine state to collect and process large volumes of data. Among the measures taken were two major reforms of the national intelligence system, which expanded the roles of intelligence agencies and counterintelligence units. These reforms included overly broad definitions of what constitutes a threat, strengthened secrecy provisions, facilitated easier access to information and exchange between authorities, and established a new cyber-intelligence agency. Amnesty states that these changes have enhanced the state's capacity to gather and analyze vast amounts of data. In addition to expanding intelligence agency powers, the federal police created new investigative structures and introduced practices such as monitoring social media without judicial orders and implementing “cyber patrols.” Police were also permitted to collect information on demonstrators and organizations without court approval. A unit for artificial intelligence in security was established with extensive responsibilities in data analysis, digital surveillance, facial recognition, and crime prediction. This unit operates without specific oversight or accountability mechanisms, according to Amnesty. The country has acquired various technical infrastructures under President Milei, including licenses for big-data and open-source intelligence software such as Maltego and the facial search engine Clearview AI. Additionally, Argentina has purchased drone infrastructure, including drones equipped with thermal cameras and automatic tracking systems. “These technologies have become a fixed part of the infrastructure of state control and serve, among other things, to combat dissent, suppress protest movements, and harass marginalized groups,” said Matt Mahmoudi, a researcher and human rights advisor on AI at Amnesty International. The Amnesty report is based on interviews with 21 individuals from journalism and activism, as well as an analysis of numerous procurement documents and data on acquired surveillance technologies. Information was also obtained through freedom of information requests. The reforms include the creation of new investigative structures within the federal police and the introduction of practices such as monitoring social media without judicial orders and the implementation of “cyber patrols.” Police were also allowed to collect information on demonstrators and organizations without court approval. A unit for artificial intelligence in security was established with extensive responsibilities in data analysis, digital surveillance, facial recognition, and crime prediction. This unit operates without specific oversight or accountability mechanisms, according to Amnesty. The country has acquired various technical infrastructures under President Milei, including licenses for big-data and open-source intelligence software such as Maltego and the facial search engine Clearview AI. Additionally, Argentina has purchased drone infrastructure, including drones equipped with thermal cameras and automatic tracking systems. These technologies have become a fixed part of the infrastructure of state control and serve, among other things, to combat dissent, suppress protest movements, and harass marginalized groups, according to Matt Mahmoudi, a researcher and human rights advisor on AI at Amnesty International. The report is based on interviews with 21 individuals from journalism and activism, as well as an analysis of numerous procurement documents and data on acquired surveillance technologies. Information was also obtained through freedom of information requests.