UN Study Confirms Chilling Effect of Surveillance on Civic Participation

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Gina Romero, presented a new study “Pushed into the Shadows: Evidencing digital surveillance chilling effects and the erosion of the rights to freedom of assembly and of association”.

The global study includes contributions of SAI grantees and shows that pervasive digital surveillance creates chilling effects that reshape behavior to be less visible not only for those directly monitored but also for their families, communities, and society at large. These long‑lasting effects can span generations, curb participation in public life, and directly undermine the civic engagement essential for functional democratic processes and institutions.

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