HRC62 - EU Statement - Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
62nd session
Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
23 June 2026
EU statement
Mr. President,
The European Union welcomes Special Rapporteur Romero and thanks her for the report, which analyses the chilling effects of digital surveillance and the erosion of the rights to freedom of assembly and of association.
Chilling effects of arbitrary and unlawful surveillance influences not only whether people engage in civic and political activities, but also how they participate and how freely they express themselves, often in a more cautious and constrained way.
Arbitrary and unlawful surveillance, as well as data collection, monitoring technologies, and opaque state practices are the cause for those chilling effects and hinder people from fully enjoying their freedom of assembly and of association. The combination of constant data tracking, legal ambiguity, and collaboration with private tech actors creates an environment where individuals assume they are always being watched. Whereas digital technology and surveillance can have chilling effects on every person, new and emerging technologies affect women and girls disproportionately. As outlined in your report, surveillance of any form must comply with necessity and proportionality applicable to limitations on freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
The EU places very strict limitations on surveillance technology, enforcing a ban on AI-based untargeted facial recognition, biometric categorisation of sensitive traits, and untargeted scraping of facial images. The Digital Services Act regulates online platforms and mandates risk assessments regarding how their systems may facilitate illegal content or pose a threat to fundamental rights, especially the rights to freedom of expression and information, the right to the protection of personal data and the right to respect for private and family life. . Finally, the European Media Freedom Act aims to protect journalists and their sources from surveillance, by introducing strict safeguards against the deployment of spyware on media service providers and their staff.
By eroding trust, reducing mobilization, and discouraging engagement, arbitrary and unlawful surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors weakens collective action and the ability to advocate for rights, which contributes to eroding civil society, equal participation and democracy.
Madame Special Rapporteur, your report highlights some of the risks associated with abuses of new technologies for surveillance. Have you identified some best practices to answer the challenges?
Thank you.