Building Surveillance State in a Digital Age and What Export Control Can(Not) Do About It?

Abstract

AbstractGlobalization leads to technology diffusion, which is inevitably linked to the selling of sensitive surveillance technologies. States and the private sector are close collaborators in the market for digital surveillance tools, which are a part of a new generation of disruptive technologies. As new technologies filter information, they have the potential to limit the freedom of speech or violate the right to privacy. As such, new means to mitigate their misuse and proliferation, including instruments outside of the box of traditional export control regimes, should be considered. This chapter explains the role of surveillance technologies and their effects in suppressing the right to privacy and the freedom of speech in a digital age. Next, it identifies current legal regimes of export control and its limits under the Wassenaar Arrangement. In this context, it also considers the latest EU development when it comes to the Dual-Use Export Regulation, as well as business due diligence. Further, it turns to private self-regulation and the need to comply with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and calls for more standard setting built on their principles.