The European Union is using public money to fund surveillance training for non-EU partners, leading ... [+] to a furious reaction from privacy-focused nonprofits. In some cases, the training was funded by EU aid coffers and went to countries with histories of human rights abuses, Privacy International warned. “Today’s revelations confirm our worst fears about the diversion and securitization of EU aid,” said Edin Omanovic, advocacy director of Privacy International. Privacy International is arguing that even where the EU’s backing of surveillance training isn’t coming from aid funds, it’s still taking money away from more obviously benign projects. The EU Parliament and Council announced Monday they’d agreed on new criteria when it came to granting or rejecting export licenses for certain surveillance tools.

Source: Forbes November 11, 2020 11:50 UTC