Civil society organisations say it could cause lasting damage to people's rightsThe world is sleepwalking into a surveillance state during the coronavirus pandemic, rights groups have claimed. Digital surveillance rolled out to curb coronavirus should be limited in time and scope, more than 100 rights groups said on Thursday, warning governments not to use the crisis as cover for pervasive snooping. The world is sleepwalking into a surveillance state during the coronavirus pandemic, rights groups have claimedBut without appropriate safeguards in place, tools deployed to save lives could cause lasting harm to people's rights, leading civil society organisations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Privacy International, said in a statement. 'An increase in state digital surveillance powers, such as obtaining access to mobile phone location data, threatens privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association,' the groups said. 'We must not sleepwalk into a permanent expanded surveillance state now.'

Source: Daily Mail April 02, 2020 17:16 UTC