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Amnesty International released a report on Tuesday alleging that Pakistan’s expanding mass surveillance and internet censorship program is being enabled by a network of companies based in Germany, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Canada, and the United States. The rights group characterized the program as a “vast and profitable economy of oppression,” accusing both state authorities and private corporations of violating international human rights obligations.
According to Amnesty, Pakistan’s security agencies have deployed two central systems: the Lawful Intercept Management System, which allows officials to tap mobile networks and monitor the communications of at least four million users simultaneously, and the Web Monitoring System 2.0, a nationwide firewall capable of blocking millions of internet sessions at once. Both tools are operated under opaque arrangements with international suppliers, raising serious questions about corporate complicity in unlawful surveillance.
The report, which is the result of an investigation conducted as part of the Tor Project, identifies German firm Utimaco and UAE-based Datafusion as key providers of the phone interception system, while the web monitoring firewall incorporates Chinese technology from Geedge Networks, US hardware from Niagara Networks, French software from Thales, and servers formerly sold by Canadian company Sandvine. Amnesty emphasized that the combination of these systems has given Pakistani authorities the capacity to silence dissent, intimidate journalists, and restrict political opposition, particularly in the wake of mass protests following the 2022 arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Rights monitors have long warned that Pakistan is building one of the world’s most advanced surveillance regimes outside of China. Amnesty emphasized that the scale and secrecy of these projects make them particularly dangerous, pointing to the absence of legislative safeguards and judicial oversight. “Due to the lack of technical and legal safeguards in the deployment and use of mass surveillance technologies in Pakistan, LIMS is in practice a tool of unlawful and indiscriminate surveillance that allows the government to spy on more than four million people at any given time,” said Jurre van Bergen, Amnesty technologist.
The report represents the latest pressure amid mounting criticism of human rights abuses in Pakistan, despite the fact that the country is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects citizens against arbitrary interference in private life.
The post Investigation ties foreign companies to Pakistan’s mass surveillance system appeared first on JURIST - News.
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According to Amnesty, Pakistan’s security agencies have deployed two central systems: the Lawful Intercept Management System, which allows officials to tap mobile networks and monitor the communications of at least four million users simultaneously, and the Web Monitoring System 2.0, a nationwide firewall capable of blocking millions of internet sessions at once. Both tools are operated under opaque arrangements with international suppliers, raising serious questions about corporate complicity in unlawful surveillance.
The report, which is the result of an investigation conducted as part of the Tor Project, identifies German firm Utimaco and UAE-based Datafusion as key providers of the phone interception system, while the web monitoring firewall incorporates Chinese technology from Geedge Networks, US hardware from Niagara Networks, French software from Thales, and servers formerly sold by Canadian company Sandvine. Amnesty emphasized that the combination of these systems has given Pakistani authorities the capacity to silence dissent, intimidate journalists, and restrict political opposition, particularly in the wake of mass protests following the 2022 arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Rights monitors have long warned that Pakistan is building one of the world’s most advanced surveillance regimes outside of China. Amnesty emphasized that the scale and secrecy of these projects make them particularly dangerous, pointing to the absence of legislative safeguards and judicial oversight. “Due to the lack of technical and legal safeguards in the deployment and use of mass surveillance technologies in Pakistan, LIMS is in practice a tool of unlawful and indiscriminate surveillance that allows the government to spy on more than four million people at any given time,” said Jurre van Bergen, Amnesty technologist.
The report represents the latest pressure amid mounting criticism of human rights abuses in Pakistan, despite the fact that the country is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects citizens against arbitrary interference in private life.
The post Investigation ties foreign companies to Pakistan’s mass surveillance system appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.