A panel discussion on digital rights and freedoms in Serbia – what has (not) changed in 2025 – was held on Tuesday, 23 December, at the Miljenko Dereta Space in Belgrade. On this occasion, key findings from BIRN’s Digital Rights Report in Serbia were presented, followed by a discussion on how the digital space is increasingly being used as a tool of intimidation and control, why existing protection mechanisms fail in practice, and what recommendations can improve security, institutional accountability, and the protection of fundamental rights.
The panel brought together five civil society organizations working on digital rights issues: BIRN, NUNS, Partners Serbia, SHARE Foundation, and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights.
BIRN’s 2024–2025 report records a growing number of violations of digital rights in Serbia, interpreted as a consequence of an increasingly repressive system of governance. The right to privacy is particularly endangered, as tabloids, pro-government media, and public officials publish private information about students, citizens, activists, and journalists. Disclosed data include personal documents, private photographs from social media, family information, contact details, and home addresses. The highest number of digital rights violations has been linked to student protests, with tabloids, politicians, and regime-aligned media most frequently identified as perpetrators.
Dušan Pokuševski from the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights addressed the use of spyware and the legal actions initiated in response to its abuse, including the deliberate infection of mobile phones belonging to journalists, activists, and students. Criminal complaints have been filed, and requests submitted to the Protector of Citizens and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection. While domestic institutions have failed to respond, international mechanisms such as the Council of Europe and UN Special Rapporteurs have reacted.
NUNS lawyer Kruna Savović, who represents journalists whose digital rights have been violated, pointed out that surveillance has evolved “from monitoring to the use of spyware that processes data indiscriminately,” stressing that Serbian institutions remain silent regarding the deployment of such tools against journalists.
Andrijana Ristić from the SHARE Foundation highlighted cases of forced phone unlocking and automatic data extraction, for which clear forensic evidence exists, yet domestic institutions have not responded, even when abuses are flagged by international organizations such as Amnesty International. According to her, the current role of spyware appears less visible, raising the question of whether it is being used less or whether more sophisticated digital surveillance methods have been introduced.
