Report

Smart city surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI surveillance across 11 countries

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies warns that surveillance is violating citizens’ freedoms and their human right to privacy.

This report provides the most comprehensive account to date of smart city surveillance in Africa. Expert researchers draw on their contextual experience of their own countries in detailed reports on Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The research focuses on the use of smart surveillance technologies in public spaces – including facial recognition and vehicle number plate recognition – and the analysis of this data, often using AI, at centralised control centres.