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Digital surveillance is breaking activist mental health

June 23, 2026

UN Special Rapporteur Gina Romero presents findings from a global study examining how widespread digital surveillance has evolved from a targeted tool into a pervasive system that inflicts severe psychological damage on civil society activists and human rights defenders. Her research across 84 countries reveals that constant monitoring through technologies like smartphone spyware causes clinical depression, PTSD, chronic burnout, and hypervigilance among those working in civic spaces. The surveillance creates profound social isolation as trust erodes, colleagues distance themselves to avoid collateral monitoring, and activists must choose between their work and protecting their families from retaliatory tracking.

Who is affected

  • Activists and civil society actors across 84 countries and territories
  • Human rights defenders
  • Journalists
  • Family members of activists, including aging parents and young children
  • Close relationships and intimate partners of monitored individuals
  • Gen Z activists and other youth groups
  • Organizations infected with spyware like Pegasus
  • Colleagues who distance themselves from surveillance victims

What action is being taken

  • The UN Special Rapporteur is presenting a new report and Global Study
  • A new therapy industry has emerged within the activism world specifically dedicated to helping victims of digital surveillance
  • Governments are deploying digital surveillance tools including smartphone spyware to monitor activists

Why it matters

  • This represents a fundamental breakdown of the global human rights framework because digital surveillance has transformed from a targeted investigative tool into a society-wide system that weaponizes uncertainty and causes severe occupational mental health hazards (including PTSD, depression, and burnout) for those defending human rights. The surveillance destroys trust—the essential foundation for collective action and solidarity—while international bodies evaluating these systems through narrow legal privacy lenses chronically underestimate the compound psychological harm. The mental health crisis threatens the sustainability of civil society itself as activists face isolation, self-censorship, and trauma that can last generations, effectively silencing dissent and civic engagement without traditional forms of direct repression.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices