Developed by Penlink, the Webloc mass surveillance tool utilizes digital advertising data to track individuals on a global scale. While initially restricted to elite military and intelligence units, the platform has steadily expanded downward to federal, state, and local police agencies. A Bloomberg investigation and Citizen Lab research identified client agencies in nations including the United States, Austria, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. The proliferation has drawn fierce criticism from privacy experts who question the lawfulness of such disproportionate and intrusive monitoring practices.
Key points
Commercial advertising data has expanded beyond high-level intelligence agencies to becom…: Commercial advertising data has expanded beyond high-level intelligence agencies to become accessible to local law enforcement departments.
The legality of utilizing ad-based surveillance frameworks faces intense legal scrutiny w…: The legality of utilizing ad-based surveillance frameworks faces intense legal scrutiny within the United Kingdom and across Europe.
Human rights researchers caution that deploying mass surveillance platforms in authoritar…: Human rights researchers caution that deploying mass surveillance platforms in authoritarian nations poses severe and disproportionate risks.
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An investigation by Bloomberg into Penlink’s ad-based surveillance system Webloc builds off Citizen Lab research, identifying additional customers of the tracking technology. The findings that Webloc has been acquired by security agencies in a number of countries aligns with potential customers we identified in our April report.
Senior researcher Wolfie Christl notes that Webloc “is a powerful mass surveillance tool that’s trickling down from military and intelligence agencies to federal law enforcement and then to state and local police.”
Our report used open source research, freedom of information requests, and server infrastructure mapping to identify Webloc customers in the US, El Salvador, and Hungary. Since then, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior has also been confirmed as a customer. The Bloomberg investigation identified customers in additional countries including the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Israel.
The lawfulness of using these systems in Europe and the UK is highly controversial. While intrusive and disproportionate ad-based mass surveillance is problematic everywhere, its use in authoritarian countries identified by reporting is particularly dangerous.
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