"The past decade and a half is also a story about how governments, companies, and platforms turned those same tools into the backbone of a powerful state surveillance apparatus."
"A global surveillance industry has treated repression by many MENA governments as a growth opportunity, and the tactics refined there now shape digital authoritarianism worldwide."
"Remembering the Arab Spring today means seeing the events of 2011 as both a remarkable moment of movement history when people leveraged networked tools in their fight for freedom and the beginning of a long, grinding effort to turn those same tools into mechanisms of state control."
The 2011 Arab uprisings in the MENA region initially empowered ordinary people through digital tools. However, over the past decade, governments have repurposed these technologies for surveillance and repression. Activists and users now face constant threats as their devices and platforms can be weaponized. The global surveillance industry has exploited repression as a growth opportunity, leading to the adoption of advanced surveillance methods, including biometrics and AI-driven systems, which have transformed state control and impacted daily life beyond the region.
Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation
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