RESEARCH → FOCUS AREA

Mass Surveillance

Identifying the technical, institutional, and commercial foundations of mass surveillance and examining its human rights implications.

Mass surveillance is the systematic monitoring, collection, and analysis of personal data by state and non-state entities.

The data generated by devices, applications, and platforms has given rise to new forms of mass surveillance, such as biometric surveillance, mobile network monitoring, advertising intelligence (ADINT), and automated pattern recognition systems.

New technologies, artificial intelligence, and commercial data brokers have transformed surveillance capabilities, enabling governments and corporations to capture, process, and analyze unprecedented volumes of personal information, often without an individual’s knowledge or consent. These mass surveillance opportunities pose serious threats to human rights and civil society.

We analyze both the technological infrastructure that makes mass surveillance possible and the evolving regulatory and legal frameworks that govern these practices.

LATEST RESEARCH

research → Report

Uncovering Webloc

An Analysis of Penlink’s Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech

Location data collected from mobile apps and digital advertising can reveal habits, interests and almost any other aspect of someone’s life. In this report, we uncover how a geolocation surveillance system called Webloc uses ad-based data to monitor hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

April 9, 2026

Mass Surveillance Targeted Surveillance
research → External Publication

The Architecture of Digital Repression

Citizen Lab senior researcher Irene Poetranto writes for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about surveillance in Myanmar.

March 17, 2026

Censorship Mass Surveillance
research → Report

You Move, They Follow

Uncovering Iran’s Mobile Legal Intercept System

A confidential source sent the online news organization, The Intercept, a series of internal documents and communications providing details on what appear to be plans to develop and launch an Iranian mobile network, including subscriber management operations and services, and integration with a legal intercept solution. Some of this communication included representatives of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Iran (CRA). In October 2022, The Intercept shared this material with Citizen Lab researchers for analysis. The following report provides a summary of our analysis of this material and discusses its wider implications.

January 16, 2023

Mass Surveillance