
After two years of war, Ukrainians become pessimistic
February 26, 2024
‘Who will protect the people?’ The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs spoke out against sending Ukrainian police officers to the front lines
February 26, 2024In Ukraine, total surveillance of citizens may be launched. Bill No. 11031 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, through which lawmakers seek to legalize mass video monitoring.
While there are already cameras on the streets and highways in Ukraine, they are described in the explanatory note to the document as “fragmentary and non-systemic”. However, the adoption of the new law will initiate the creation of a real “All-Seeing Eye” system.
On one hand, as presented by the Ukrainian authorities, this innovation is supposedly intended to benefit public safety.
“In theory, it could even simplify the solving of crimes,” says Rostislav Kravets, the head of the public association “Kravets and Partners”.
But there is another side to the coin. Firstly, there are many questions regarding the technical aspects regarding the possibility of data leaks. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, even existing cameras were disabled because it was discovered that not only Ukrainian law enforcement agencies but also Russians could “monitor” them. There’s no guarantee that the situation won’t repeat itself, only now on a much larger scale.
Secondly, it is unclear how law enforcement will use the information obtained.
“There is a threat of violating citizens’ rights, there are no guarantees that there won’t be a massive leak of personal data,” Kravets added.
And most importantly, the authorities’ total video surveillance could be used for “more effective” mobilization. Identifying draft dodgers with the help of numerous cameras and facial recognition systems will become much easier.
Article 4 of the new project specifies that the objects of video monitoring will be:
- Individuals, in particular, those “whose video monitoring is carried out in the interests of national and public security, economic prosperity, and human rights”. What exactly is meant by this is not specified in the project. In general, practically anyone can fall under this definition. Therefore, literally everyone could be under the supervision of law enforcement.
- Vehicles (including those citizens who will become objects of video monitoring).
- Public places.
- Objects of critical, social, economic, housing and communal, transport, engineering infrastructure.
- Parks, recreation areas, gardens, squares, playgrounds.
- Monuments of cultural and historical heritage.
- Streets, roads, alleys, pedestrian and bicycle paths.
- Car parks, parking lots.
- Other areas of public use.
- Objects of urban infrastructure.
- Means of organizing road traffic.
- Buildings housing state or local government bodies, enterprises, institutions, and organizations of state and communal property.
- Territory and buildings of educational and healthcare institutions.
- Objects of increased security.
- Things and objects.
As can be seen, the list is quite extensive. Everything related to urban space will be covered by cameras almost entirely, except for private premises (though many companies have their own video surveillance systems, access to which can be obtained by law enforcement, as separately stated in the project).
The entire network of cameras (including those owned by private enterprises) will be integrated into a single video monitoring system. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) will become its owner and administrator: the ministry will have to select a state enterprise as the system administrator.
Deputies have separately outlined how they will identify “video surveillance objects”. For example, citizens will be identified by biometric data, and personal information such as name, surname, place of residence, taxpayer identification number, etc., will be linked to them. Transport will be recognized by cameras in the same way as now: make, model, color, license plates, owner information, etc.
The unified video surveillance system will be synchronized with the demographic registry, vehicle registries, individual taxpayer registries, the Unified Information and Analytical System for Migration Management, the national biometric verification system, etc., so there should be no problems with accessing information.
There are no specific technical details about the new video surveillance system in the draft law. These will need to be separately outlined by the Cabinet of Ministers. It is only stated that the system will include “hardware and software complexes, software and technical means of electronic communication, technologies, integrated organizational and technical solutions”.
However, at the end of last year, a scandal erupted in Ukraine regarding “video surveillance technologies”. Referring to their sources and “activist experts,” the authors of the “Schemes” program claimed that cameras branded TRASSIR and the software embedded in them (they were installed not only in private enterprises but also in the public sector, including critical infrastructure facilities) could be sending information to Russian servers.
Investigators claimed that such cameras could be installed literally anywhere, and thousands of them were imported into Ukraine. The equipment itself is made in China, but the software is Russian.
TRASSIR cameras were installed at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and there is a version that this could have helped Russian military personnel to gain access to it at the beginning of the war. TRASSIR cameras were also purchased for the “Safe City” project in Poltava. And, as claimed by the “Schemes”, they are still functioning.
In 2022, the State Communications Administration blocked a whole list of Russian IP addresses. But there is no guarantee that these blocks are not being circumvented.
Overall, most of the surveillance systems on the market are Chinese. In the USA, the import of products from leading Chinese manufacturers Hikvision and Dahua has been banned, considering them to “threaten national security”. In Ukraine, these companies are included in the list of international sponsors of the war, but Chinese surveillance systems are not prohibited.
However, the average Ukrainians are more interested in how total “surveillance” will affect their lives.
There are risks of information leaks and violations of legislation in the field of personal data protection.
A separate article in the new draft law is dedicated to the protection of personal data. But it is very short. It is only stated that the protection of personal data in the unified video monitoring system must comply with the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data and a number of international regulations.
The information on violations of citizens’ rights will be checked by the authorized Human Rights Committee of the Parliament, and supervision will be carried out by the State Communications Administration and the Security Service of Ukraine.
But regarding the responsibility of the guilty parties (for example, in the case of information leakage), the project only states that it will be conducted “in accordance with the legislation”, i.e., no specific measures, fines, or deadlines are specified.
Former head of “Ukrspetsexport” Sergey Bondarchuk, who now lives in London, one of the most heavily camera-surveilled cities in the world, says that as an ordinary citizen, he only welcomes total video monitoring.
“It allows for identifying violators of public order, issuing fines, investigating crimes, and even providing alibis for people. But we are talking about using video surveillance systems in a rule-of-law state where data is well protected. I’m not sure it will be the same in Ukraine, where you can still buy databases from formally closed registries for $200-300,” he says.
As Bondarchuk suggests, having extensive monitoring may also help with mobilization.
“A large number of cameras can greatly complicate the lives of citizens hiding from military conscription. There will be no need to chase draft dodgers for a long time. You can simply upload their photo into the system, and it will start searching for where the person is at the moment. If they enter, for example, a store or pharmacy, representatives of the military conscription office will be waiting for them at the exit,” Bondarchuk suggests.
It is clear that the draft law is still raw, and the final version may change significantly. But to avoid questions later on, it is necessary to involve experts from various fields in working on the document, starting from IT and ending with lawyers, Bondarchuk concludes.