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The guardian who watches over the citizens

Document Citado por Related
Vincent
AutorFabrizio Scrollini
Páginas224-225

Page 224

See note 92

In Uruguay, to the surprise of many of its citizens, the purchase of surveillance technologies has also been reported. Once analyzing the scope of these digital tools and seeing the risk of them being used for anti-democratic practices, the authorities’ promises of "respecting the usual guarantees" become no longer suficient.

The news that the Uruguayan government had secretly purchased software for electronic surveillance operations was surprising, but not inexplicable. Public safety has been one of the hottest topics among public debate and the government has made progress in different types of solutions involving technology, which includes video surveillance, software and the use of drones.

"The Guardian" (name of the recently purchased software) allows authorities to analyze real-time telephone calls and emails. It is a powerful technology that, according to the authorities, will be used "with the usual guarantees", i.e. through a warrant. The technology provided by the Brazilian company Digitro had previously been used in Brazil during the World Cup. Uruguayan phone companies have already begun to acquire the equipment for its full implementation. The framework of secrecy that has surrounded this case has prevented the answering of some key questions, such as what kind of protocols will the Uruguayan security agencies follow to implement these policies? What are the institutional arrangements in terms of accountability for those who operate this technology? How will Uruguayan security agencies cooperate with other agencies at international level?

Two factors complicate the answering of these questions: the cloak of secrecy surrounding the operation and the lack of clear regulations. On

Page 225

one hand, the purchase of this tool without any parliamentary control and carried out in secret, at the very least, points towards an improper procedure in a democracy. On the other hand, we ind here different types of regulations: data protection, the regulation of intelligence systems and access to public information. There has been no analysis in Uruguay of how this game of regulations establishes clear rules for operating this technology while respecting fundamental Human Rights.

This scenario should in turn be contextualized within the reality of Uruguay: a country generally respectful of the law and Human Rights. Unfortunately, Human Rights in the digital era are little understood by decision makers. An example of...

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