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July 12, 2026
 

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SURVEILLANCE

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration aims to enact anti-espionage legislation at an early date.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2026
LDP to propose allowing warrantless communications interception
The initiative will be a major pillar of anti-espionage legislation that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to enact soon.
A man checks his mobile phone in central Moscow on March 17. Since the Kremlin ratcheted up control over the internet this year, Russians have been turning to increasingly convoluted technical solutions to circumvent state monitoring and restrictions on popular foreign apps.
WORLD
Jun 16, 2026
Russians juggle phones and VPNs to skirt Putin’s digital iron curtain
The biggest crackdown of its kind has at times disrupted banking, transport and e-commerce, irritating people ahead of a September parliamentary election.
Google and Apple are among a group of technology companies that have expressed opposition to a proposed law in Canada allowing police more access to citizens’ data.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2026
Apple and Google blast Canada’s plan to give police more access to citizen data
The Canadian government is defending the Lawful Access Act, saying it’s designed to ensure police have the legal tools to “prevent, investigate and respond” to modern crime.
Temporary street signs warn pedestrians of a Metropolitan Police live facial recognition operation in London on May 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 25, 2026
On London’s streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty
Britain has long been one of the world’s heaviest users of CCTV cameras in public spaces, and Londoners can be caught ​on film up to several ‌hundred times a day.
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 20, 2026
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
A death-row inmate says she’s been surveilled 24/7 for 24 years. Now, she’s suing the Japanese government for a breach of human rights.
A technician in the server room of the Sberbank PJSC data processing center at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, Moscow, in 2017. The European Union passed new legislation regulating the sale of surveillance technologies in 2021.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
Europe exported spyware to human rights abusers, watchdog says
Human Rights Watch’s findings indicate that European Union regulations introduced in 2021 to rein in exports of the technology are not being properly enforced.
Through much of 2025, a U.S. special agent had been looking into claims that some Meta employees and contractors could see the content of encrypted WhatsApp messages. The investigation was just abruptly closed.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2026
U.S. ends investigation into claims WhatsApp chats aren’t private
The abrupt closure ends a law enforcement inquiry into claims that challenge how the company markets the chat service’s privacy.
A logo of Meta AI outside Meta House on the opening day of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2025
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2026
Meta to capture U.S. employee mouse movements and keystrokes to train AI
The new tracking software will run on work-related apps and websites and will also take occasional snapshots of the content on employees’ screens, according to an internal memo.
An advertisement for the Max messenger platform in Moscow
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
The KGB’s successor is expanding its power in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s main security agency is expanding its sweeping surveillance powers, deepening the state’s reach into economic and social life to suppress any risk of dissent to President Vladimir Putin.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved a draft revision to the drone law at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Government approves bill to expand no-fly zones for drones in Japan
While the designated no-fly zones have not changed since the law entered into force in 2016, drones’ maximum speeds, ranges and load capacities have drastically improved.
Russia is pushing its Max social media platform in a heavy-handed rollout that has raised concerns that Moscow will use the app to surveil its citizens and further cut digital links to the West.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Russia’s Max: The unencrypted super-app being forced on citizens
Max is being rolled out with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country’s two most popular messenger apps.
The government in Hong Kong has announced a further crackdown on dissent, empowering police ​to demand people provide passwords ‌or decryption methods for electronic devices without a court order.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Hong Kong police given new powers to obtain phone and computer passwords
The city government has announced the new police powers as amendments to the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a Lower House budget committee session last week
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Tough debate ahead for Japan national intelligence council bill
The government believes that the current security environment is the most severe and complex since the end of World War II.
Anthropic’s clash with the Pentagon is drawing fresh attention to the role of artificial intelligence in mass surveillance.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 6, 2026
Pentagon feud with Anthropic shines light on AI’s role in mass surveillance
The tactic can allow the government to collect valuable intelligence about foreign adversaries, terrorists and criminals, while critics say it can be abused.
The White House is pictured behind a fence in Washington on April 25, 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
U.S. orders diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives
The dominance of U.S. AI companies — many of which use personal data to power their models — spotlights EU concerns around privacy and surveillance.
Russia's internet watchdog announced on Tuesday that the Telegram messenger platform would face further restrictions for alleged violations of Russian law, as Moscow tries to push Russians to use more tightly controlled domestic online services.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2026
Telegram app faces further curbs and possible fines as Russia clamps down
The Russian communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, began limiting voice and video calls ​via Telegram last August.
Indian Border Security Force soldiers ride their camels during a rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 21, 2026
India beefing up space-based surveillance after border conflict
The move comes after New Delhi had encountered surveillance blind spots during a conflict last year with neighbor Pakistan.
With new FAA rule changes allowing drone flights beyond visual line of sight, U.S. law enforcement agencies are expanding autonomous drone programs, raising both operational capabilities and privacy concerns.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2025
The future of drones is policing, not delivering packages
The ability to provide live, aerial views at the fraction of the cost of a helicopter also makes drones useful for law enforcement and firefighters.
Security lines at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, in May
WORLD
Oct 25, 2025
U.S. to photograph all noncitizens entering and exiting country
The rule comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to expand collection of data on immigrants and foreign nationals in the United States.
Flags fly near a banner depicting U.S. President Donald Trump during a "No Kings" protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2025
As ‘No Kings’ protests decry Trump, surveillance worries emerge
The Trump administration has declined to share details about how officials typically monitor demonstrators.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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