Argentine president Javier Mileiโs government has moved to expand intelligence and digital surveillance capabilities, creating units and plans to monitor online platforms (including social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp), use AI to patrol content, analyse camera footage and deploy predictive algorithms. Reports and a leaked National Intelligence Plan prompted concerns that journalists, experts, opposition figures and protest groups could be monitored.
- New/expanded bodies: creation or strengthening of an AI/security unit and restoration/empowerment of the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), with bigger budgets and reserved/opaque funds.
- Scope of monitoring: โpatrolling open social platforms, applications and websites,โ analysing security-camera images in real time (including facial recognition), monitoring suspicious financial transactions, drone/aerial surveillance, and attempts to predict crime using machineโlearning.
- Targets and language in the plan: the leaked 170โpage National Intelligence Plan reportedly allows surveillance of people who โmanipulate public opinionโ or โerode confidenceโ in government policies โ wording critics say is vague and could encompass journalists, academics, economists, social leaders and protest movements.
- Incidents and consequences: journalists who reported the leak (notably Hugo Alconada Mon) reported hacking attempts and attempts to compromise WhatsApp/X accounts; pressโfreedom groups raised alarms and Argentinaโs pressโfreedom rankings have fallen under Milei.
- Government response: officials have denied that SIDE will be used to persecute critics, while Milei and some aides have attacked journalists publicly.
- Legal/transparency concerns: critics warn of weak safeguards, broad discretion for intelligence agencies, lack of clear definitions for who may be surveilled, and increased confidential spending that reduces oversight.
Sauces (picked by GPT-5 mini): reports from El Paรญs, Buenos Aires Times, La Naciรณn (reporting on the leaked plan), MercoPress and other outlets covering the May 2025 leak and subsequent reporting (coverage updated through Jan 7, 2026).
#Argentina #surveillance #privacy #freedom #Milei
โก Wallet of Satoshi blocks custodial service in the entire EU ๐ฑ
Affected countries include
๐ฉ๐ช Germany
๐ฎ๐น Italy
๐ซ๐ท France
๐ช๐ธ Spain
๐ต๐ฑ Polan
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
Users report needing VPN connections to UK, Serbia and many non-EU countries to access the service โก
https://xcancel.com/LightningNewsX/status/2007054622989701336