Digital Surveillance in Africa

Africa has become one of the world’s fastest growing international markets for surveillance technology, and its governments some of the biggest users of surveillance against their own peoples. At the same time, African research and activism around surveillance and digital rights issues are flourishing and producing some of the most hard-hitting critiques and responses. Digital Surveillance in Africa is a vibrant, interdisciplinary volume that directs our focus away from the areas where surveillance studies has long been concerned, towards a continent struggling to escape long legacies of colonialism and the current machinations of both global capital and imperial interference, and forging its own future. * David Murakami Wood, University of Ottawa, Canada * “Digital Surveillance in Africa” unveils the intricate dynamics of panoptic real-time surveillance and the chilling effect that constrains civic space across the continent. Through case studies on Sisi’s Egypt and Kenyan ID systems, this collection exposes how surveillance technologies exacerbate power asymmetries. By exposing rights-violating surveillance, the authors in this collection challenge us to envision and hope for a future where privacy and freedom are actively maintained. From phishing, spyware, and smart cities, to the troubling proliferation of biometric digital-ID systems, “Digital Surveillance in Africa” offers a deep examination of the continent’s multi-billion-dollar surveillance market. Contributors explore how such technologies impact fundamental rights, highlighting both the pall of repression and the opportunities for resistance, this book provides actionable insights to balance surveillance with democratic values. “Digital Surveillance in Africa” explores how the hidden power of state and corporate actors intersects with ""created spaces"" of citizen resistance. Anchored in an analysis of surveillance technologies—such as AI-powered facial recognition and social media monitoring—the book navigates the tension between growing authoritarianism and the active demand for civic agency. * Philip Howard, University of Oxford, UK * In an era marked by aggressive, ubiquitous bouts of digital authoritarianism and transnational repression, this book is going to certainly be a must-have for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers interested in the unfolding nature of digital surveillance in Africa. Applicable to other regions of the world, carefully-selected cases distinguished by well-reasoned, first-rate analysis and critique, ranging from Kenya to Zambia, Egypt to Nigeria, address critical issues on the appropriation of digital technology to coerce and control citizens across Africa. * Bruce Mutsvairo, Utrecht University, Netherlands * From colonial spy-systems to contemporary analyses of the ‘digital state’ and ‘safe-and-smart-cities,’ this book explores surveillance across six African countries. Often reliant on technology from China or Israel, new kinds of dependency emerge, along with fresh modes of resistance. Some salutary conclusions are reached, for those in both global south and global north. * David Lyon, Queen’s University, Canada *