Digital Surveillance and Personal Data Protection in Serbia
The project “Strengthening the Rule of Law in Serbia: Towards Effective Data Protection in an Era of Digital Surveillance” aims to advance the protection of the right to privacy and address unlawful surveillance in Serbia. It is a comprehensive initiative designed to respond to systemic challenges in the field of personal data protection, with the goal of strengthening the legal framework, enhancing institutional accountability, and improving society’s capacity to recognize and defend digital rights.
The project is implemented by a consortium bringing together Partners for Democratic Change Serbia (Partners Serbia), with fifteen years of expertise in privacy and digital rights, and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), with three decades of work in the protection and promotion of human rights, alongside local partners SINHRO, Team42, and the Šumadija Centre for Civic Activism Res Publika (Res Publica). By combining complementary expertise and established local networks, the project seeks to engage a wide range of civil society actors and citizens across Serbia.
The project is structured around three interrelated components.
- Strengthening legal and oversight frameworks for protection against unlawful surveillance. Through continuous legal monitoring and analysis, the project will identify regulatory and institutional gaps, with findings presented through thematic reports and contributions to annual human rights reviews. These findings will inform advocacy efforts at both the national and international levels, aimed at aligning Serbian practice with international human rights standards. At the same time, the project provides support to victims of unlawful surveillance by initiating legal cases and pursuing strategic litigation before domestic courts and international human rights mechanisms, with the aim of reinforcing institutional accountability. An important element of this work is the ongoing dialogue with civil society organizations in order to coordinate reform strategies and encourage joint action.
- Empowering civil society organizations, local actors, and legal professionals. Recognizing that sustainable change depends on a strong and informed civil society, the project includes a comprehensive learning and support programme for at least 60 civil society organizations. Through multi-day trainings, thematic legal guides, and continuous mentoring, participants will strengthen the knowledge and skills needed to address complex digital rights issues. The project also supports local organizations in conducting thematic research and community-based campaigns, helping them develop into local hubs of expertise and action in the field of data protection. In parallel, it invests in the legal community by providing advanced training in strategic digital rights litigation.
- Informing, educating, and mobilizing the public. Through public awareness campaigns, educational materials, videos, and infographics, the project seeks to make privacy and data protection issues more accessible to the wider public and to foster a stronger culture of digital rights. A central place in this effort is given to the annual “Privacy Week” programmes, organized around International Data Protection Day, which include flagship events in Belgrade as well as local activities in Leskovac, Pančevo, and Kragujevac. The project also invests in educating future generations of experts through annual online Privacy Schools for young professionals and Schools of Human Rights, ensuring that future leaders are equipped to defend privacy in the digital age.
By bringing together research, advocacy, legal protection, capacity building, and public outreach, the project seeks to contribute to a safer and more accountable digital environment in Serbia, in which the right to privacy and the protection of personal data are effectively guaranteed and protected.
