Argentina: Unchecked deployment of AI-driven surveillance reinforces a techno-authoritarian infrastructure of social control https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/08/argentina-unchecked-deploymen... 19 August 2026 The expanded use of surveillance technologies in Argentina during the first two years of the Javier Milei’s administration has served to expand states surveillance capabilities, profiling and reprisals in the country, creating a chilling effect on rights to privacy and freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, Amnesty International said in a new report today. The report, Sensing the Surveillance State<https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr13/1104/2026/en/>, documents how the government implemented sweeping institutional reforms to expand its intelligence capabilities and therefore surveillance mechanisms, through executive decrees and resolutions. Between 2024-2025, it also acquired technologies worth at least US$1.2 million, including social media monitoring tools, facial recognition, and aerial surveillance tools. Together, these policies and technologies amount to a system of mass surveillance. “Pervasive surveillance is being used against Argentinians in both physical and digital spaces, to devastating effect. These technologies have become an integral part of the infrastructure of state control, targeting dissent, deterring protest movements, and harassing marginalized groups, among other authoritarian practices,” said Paola Garcia Ray, Deputy Director, Amnesty International Argentina. “When powerful people don’t want accountability, they attack those who ask questions and use whatever is at their disposal to monitor, control and repress.” The report is based on interviews with 21 people including journalists, activists, pensioners, young people and human rights defenders; analysis of scores of procurement documents and data related to acquired surveillance technologies; and information obtained through freedom of information (FOI) requests. An expanding surveillance infrastructure The Argentinian government has procured various surveillance technologies, including open-source intelligence platforms designed for the collection, cross-checking and visualization of large volumes of data from social media, websites, the dark web, personal data, technical infrastructure and other public databases. Purchases also include licences for facial recognition software from companies with a track record of mass exploitation of biometric data without sufficient legal grounds <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/06/amnesty-international-cal...> , as well as the procurement of drones and ground control stations, with automated tracking capabilities, thermal cameras and real-time transmission of images. “We’ve all been fully identified for a long time now… Sometimes as you’re walking you get to [where you were going] and suddenly you see the drone hovering just above your head. Sometimes within six feet. Why so close? Why is it so invasive?” said Ana Tapia, a member of the Insurgent Pensioners (Jubilados Insurgentes) collective. Pensioners in Buenos Aires march every Wednesday to the National Congress to protest against the pension cuts made by the national government. The report documents the direct impact such surveillance capabilities are having on various groups including journalists, activists, and migrants. It found that some were self-censoring on social media and in public spaces, reducing participation in protests for fear of being identified and targeted, and taking more cautious measures in the planning of public activities. Amnesty International has documented abuse and misuse of such technologies globally<https://banthescan.amnesty.org/>. The Argentinian authorities’ procurement and expanded scope of AI-driven surveillance reflects a global trend where the state’s use of such products incentivizes companies to run businesses that commercialize wide-scale surveillance. Together, this compounds the risks to rights such as the rights to privacy, equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, while also stifling transparency and freedom of information. “What is happening in Argentina is not unique. Around the world, states engaged in authoritarian practices are ramping up their use of surveillance technologies against human rights defenders, young people, migrants, marginalized and displaced groups, and dissidents. Too often this goes hand in hand with a lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability,” said Matt Mahmoudi, Researcher and Advisor, Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Amnesty International. Amnesty International is calling on the Argentinian authorities to ban the development, production, sale, and use of remote biometric recognition technologies for mass and targeted discriminatory surveillance, and to ban its unlawful use by all public and private actors. The authorities must also establish appropriate regulatory measures for the procurement, development, production, sale, import and export of surveillance technologies, and specific public policy frameworks for their use. “Argentina must demonstrate that it is committed to human rights, by ensuring that the use of AI-driven surveillance does not go unchecked and those responsible for human rights abuses perpetuated because of these systems must be held accountable,” Matt Mahmoudi.