No Room to Protest: How AI Surveillance is Shutting Down Freedom of Assembly in West Asia and North Africa

By Dima Samaro, Executive Director at Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR)

Governments in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region are launching a dangerous new trend of surveillance that is rapidly undermining the right to assemble and other basic rights. Authorities are pouring millions into opaque AI systems like drones, biometric surveillance, and predictive policing under the guise of "technological development," national security, and providing better public services.

This massive technological push demonstrates that the true objective is pervasive digital control, where every public gathering and every face in the crowd is automatically logged, tracked, and flagged. Below, we provide snapshots of this trend in Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, and Iran.

Tunisia

Tunisian authorities are using emerging surveillance tech to to curb and threaten fundamental freedoms. The groundwork for this pervasive system was laid as early as 2016, when the Interior Ministry announced plans to install over 1,400 video-surveillance cameras in 400 locations in Tunis alone. By July 2019, the Minister of Information Technology confirmed that tens of thousands of cameras would be deployed across public places, under the pretext of "fighting terrorism and furthering national security." To date, the exact number of installed cameras remains unknown. The former head of the data protection authority (INPDP), Chawki Gaddes, publicly warned that citizens were not being informed of the cameras' authority or where they could seek copies of their data.

Authorities have since deployed drones and CCTV cameras in places where protesters usually gather in Tunis, particularly Avenue Habib Bourguiba. This was clearly demonstrated in January 2023 when thousands protesting the economic crisis and the rule of President Kais Saied found the avenue secured with metal barriers, drones, and surveillance cameras.

The system's foundation also rests on international cooperation. In August 2019, the Embassy of Japan announced a grant of approximately 8 Million Tunisian Dinars (US$2.7 million) as non-refundable aid for a high-tech monitoring and surveillance system. Disclosed at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), the official rationale was to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts and border management. However, the aid directly funded surveillance devices, including a facial recognition system. Tunisia’s interest in advanced monitoring technology remains strong, with a delegation visiting the Japanese company NEC in July 2025 where they reviewed the company's latest facial recognition software.

Two months later, in September 2025, the Sousse municipality announced a new surveillance system for the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Medina. It will deploy four facial recognition cameras at strategic points like Bab Jebli and Ribat de Sousse, purportedly to protect tourism and visitor flows. These advanced cameras will be linked directly to the municipal police operations room. This high-end identification tool, justified solely by tourism, offers authorities the power to identify and track individuals at future public assemblies.

This wider surveillance network is already being deployed to target dissenting voices and activists. Multiple reports show surveillance drones monitored protests against the deepening political crisis and the President’s power grab in 2021. Worse still, Tunisian police have posted protest footage on Facebook to identify participants, specifically targeting LGBTQ individuals and human rights activists. Such a combination of acquired technology and tactical deployment creates a chilling effect that directly undermines the right to peaceful assembly, a right guaranteed under Article 37 of the Tunisian Constitution.

Morocco

Similarly, the Moroccan government has ramped up surveillance under the pretext of "digital development" and "pandemic response," building a pervasive infrastructure that undermines the right to peaceful assembly. This technological build-out is framed by the national transformation strategy, "Maroc Digital 2030," which promotes AI as a key driver of economic development. A new draft law, the "Digital X.0 Law," was put forward in November 2025 and is under review by the General Secretariat of the Government. 

While this law addresses AI, data governance, and interoperability, the government's actions contradict its claims of rights-respecting digital development. The country's preparation to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup has accelerated the expansion of state monitoring capabilities. This technological push coincides with a crackdown on youth-led Gen Z 212 protests, where authorities have charged over 2,480 people since the demonstrations began in late September.

The scale of investment in biometric surveillance is staggering. In April 2021, the Interior Ministry circulated a tender for 577 surveillance drones and facial recognition cameras in Casablanca, explicitly targeting "sensitive neighborhoods," a clear roadmap for policing dissent. These models are being replicated nationwide. Fez has launched a $14 million camera network expansion, and Rabat officials plan to install 4,000 smart cameras by the end of 2025. These systems rely on sophisticated algorithms to scan faces, read license plates, track movements, and flag so-called "suspicious" behavior in real time.

Such unchecked expansion poses a severe threat to protest rights. Former UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet expressed concern in June 2020 over states' use of facial recognition during peaceful protests. She urged governments, including Morocco, to ensure human rights due diligence, robust oversight, and transparency before the technology is deployed. 

Yet authorities have proceeded with deployments since a data protection moratorium lapsed in December 2020. Although the CNDP held hearings in March 2025 to discuss new regulation, the process remains opaque. Skyline International for Human Rights sent an open letter to the CNDP in May 2025 seeking clarity on legal safeguards, no response has been received to date. This surveillance system, built on shifting justifications, represents a durable digital threat to fundamental freedoms that will persist long after the stadiums empty.

Bahrain 

Bahrain's surveillance system has gone beyond simple monitoring. It is now a comprehensive program aiming for preemptive prediction that severely undermines the right to assembly. This strategy is rooted in a history of suppression, dating back to the 2011 uprising, where the deployment of Nokia Siemens spyware enabled authorities to gain access to activists’ phones and use their private texts as evidence during interrogations. This legacy in Bahrain, which also included implementing Samsung S1's "City Security Control System" in 2013, sets the stage for today's advanced network.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahrain dramatically amplified its control by deploying the highly invasive BeAware app paired with a mandatory GPS wristband. This system was used to track citizens’ location and movement in real time, enforcing quarantine under threat of harsh penalties, including imprisonment.

Recently, the country’'s drive toward preemptive surveillance was signaled by the involvement of U.S.-based firm Geolitica (formerly PredPol). The company reportedly mapped past protest locations in a proof-of-concept, demonstrating a system that moves far beyond reactive surveillance (arresting protesters after gatherings) to the potential for suppressing assemblies before they even begin. It remains unclear whether Bahraini authorities officially asked for this demo or if a final agreement was ever reached.

In August 2025, the Ministry of Interior partnered with Bahraini tech company Beyon to deploy 500 advanced AI-powered smart cameras for traffic control, framed by the government as integral to Vision 2030 and digital transformation. However, legislators have raised urgent concerns regarding the use of collected data and the serious privacy implications of this increased surveillance. The drive for automated surveillance has even reached academic spaces, with the University of Bahrain installing facial recognition cameras, a move that risks turning the campus into "security barracks."

Iran

Iran's surveillance system provides a stark example of technology used not just to police public gathering, but to enforce hijab law and social control, fundamentally targeting women's autonomy. The death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after being arrested for improperly wearing her hijab sparked the "Women Life Freedom" protests, a massive movement. Authorities responded by quickly deploying facial recognition technologies to identify and arrest protesters in the weeks and months following the initial uprising.

The core of this surveillance is a mobile app called 'Nazer' (Monitor), developed and operated by Iran’s Law Enforcement Command. This app enables authorized individuals, including police, to report women violating hijab laws by uploading a vehicle's license plate. Law enforcement then sends a real-time warning, with repeated violations leading to vehicle impoundment. In September 2024, authorities expanded the app’s reach to ambulances, taxis, and public transport, severely tightening restrictions on women’s mobility.

This campaign is amplified by other advanced tools. Since April 2024, security forces have deployed aerial drones over Tehran and southern Iran to monitor women in public spaces. Meanwhile, facial recognition systems were installed at key locations, including Amirkabir University, to track and penalize women students. This combination of apps, drones, and facial recognition creates an integrated surveillance state focused on suppressing women's freedom of expression and movement. The digital repression deepens the climate of fear and ensures the repression of any future dissent.

What needs to be done? Suspend all AI-driven surveillance tech

The evidence from the region confirms a widespread regional trend where governments are exploiting the opacity of surveillance technology to entrench state control under the guise of progress. This technological acceleration severely shrinks civic space and turns public zones into areas of constant monitoring and control. We cannot allow rights-violating surveillance to become the region's new normal.

In countries lacking robust laws and independent oversight, AI and emerging tech quickly transform into tools for population control. The absence of transparency and access to information means citizens cannot seek redress when their privacy is violated or their data is misused. The objective is clear when systems deployed under vague pretexts are immediately repurposed to target peaceful assembly. Technology that is unnecessary or disproportionately threatens freedom of assembly and privacy must not be used.

SIHR calls on governments to be fully transparent and accountable for all surveillance procurement. They must implement robust human rights safeguards and legislative oversight and engage in meaningful public consultation to better protect people's right to peaceful assembly and privacy. Crucially, governments must enforce a moratorium on the use of all facial recognition and predictive policing technologies, like Morocco did in 2020, until strong safeguards to protect the rights of assembly and expression are firmly in place.

Instead of hastily deploying unproven, poorly planned technology, governments should enhance transparency and build citizen trust by demonstrating respect for the right to peaceful assembly and all other fundamental rights.