Archive
Police racism and criminalisation across Europe increasingly fuelled by digital ‘prediction’ and profiling systems
London, 30 June 2025 – The civil liberties organisation Statewatch has published a report that reveals how police and criminal legal system authorities across Europe are using data-based, algorithmic and AI systems to ‘predict’ where crimes may occur and profile people as criminals, despite the EU’s apparent ban on so-called ‘predictive policing’ systems in the Artificial Intelligence Act. Read More
UK: Electronic tagging: the normalisation of a “fascist or totalitarian” technology
Electronic tagging has long been a controversial means of monitoring and restricting the movement of people outside of prisons. The British government is expanding the use of electronic tagging against people with criminal convictions, asylum seekers and migrants. A report from 1989, held in the Statewatch Library & Archive, shows remarkably fierce opposition to the practice from what might seem an unlikely source: the Prison Officers’ Association. Read More
Activist demands compensation from Europol for illegal surveillance
A Dutch political activist last week filed a legal complaint with EU police agency Europol, seeking compensation for the unlawful processing and handling of his personal data. The move is likely to lead to litigation at the European Court of Justice to determine Europol’s liability. This case could help clarify the rights of individuals seeking redress against Europol’s growing surveillance and data-gathering efforts. Read More
EU under pressure to cancel data adequacy agreement with Israel
Israel's "combination of legal reforms, unchecked intelligence access, and the operational deployment of EU-linked data in repressive practices further undermines the credibility of Israel’s adequacy status," warns a letter to the European Commission signed by 17 organisations, including Statewatch. Read More
“We must build a different future while we can”: collective statement calls for urgent change of course
A declaration coordinated by the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy ties together the crises of border violence and refugee deaths at sea, extractivism and fossil fuel dependence, militarism, Big Tech and corporate power, the genocide in Palestine, and environmental destruction in the Mediterranean. It makes an urgent call for a transformative social, environmental and political alternative. Read More
New report examines Algeria’s role in the European border regime
A new report looks at the way the Algerian government has increased its involvement in border control initiatives promoted by European governments, after decades of reluctance to do so. Read More
EU: Proposed deportation law fuels “far-right narratives” and should be withdrawn, says letter
EU lawmakers should drop the proposed deportation Regulation, says an open letter signed by 12 members of the #ProtectNotSurveil coalition, including Statewatch. The letter warns that the proposal will violate peoples' rights through an expansion of the EU's digital surveillance and control infrastructure. Read More
Document: EU measures against transport operators involved in migrant smuggling
The latest Polish Council Presidency draft of the proposed Regulation "on measures against transport operators that facilitate or engage in trafficking in persons or smuggling of migrants". If a company were deemed to be engaged in those activities, the EU would be able to suspend port visitation rights, road or rail transportation licences, or to limit the scope of existing licences. Read More
Document: Access to data for effective law enforcement
The Council of the EU's proposed priorities for law enforcement access to data, covering: measures to be implemented immediately; priorities for the European Commission's upcoming "roadmap to ensure lawful and effective access to data"; and ideas for ways to "foster a constructive public discourse." Read More
Longstanding failings in police databases likely to worsen under new deportation law
The EU’s new deportation law will expand a database that has long led to abuses and rights violations, particularly in relation to the right to data protection. Read More