Digital surveillance of social protection in Serbia
In Serbia, the Law on Social Card was adopted in 2021, establishing an electronic register containing the data of beneficiaries of social protection schemes, and enabling automated processing of data to make decisions about access to social protection rights and services.
A 11 believe this practice violates citizens’ right to privacy and data protection, as well as excluding more and more people from the social protection system.
A 11 are aiming for a court ruling that practices introduced by the Law on Social Card are not in accordance with national and international human rights standards.
The pre-litigation stage includes fieldwork, focus groups, comparative analysis, “reverse engineering” of the Social Card, inputs gathered from social workers and the beneficiaries of social assistance programs. Additionally, A11 will seek input from other organisations in the Netherlands and Denmark who litigated against similar pieces of legislation in their countries.
Digital surveillance of social protection in Serbia
Organisation Name
A 11 – Initiative for Economic and Social Rights
Country/Jurisdiction
Serbia
Amount Granted
EUR 24,545
Current Status
Ongoing
Image credit: A 11 – Initiative for Economic and Social Rights
Grant type
Pre-litigation Research Support
Description
In Serbia, the Law on Social Card was adopted in 2021, establishing an electronic register containing the data of beneficiaries of social protection schemes, and enabling automated processing of data to make decisions about access to social protection rights and services.
A 11 believe this practice violates citizens’ right to privacy and data protection, as well as excluding more and more people from the social protection system. They are planning litigation, aiming to get a court ruling that practices introduced by the Law on Social Card are not in accordance with national and international human rights standards.
The pre-litigation stage includes fieldwork, focus groups, comparative analysis, “reverse engineering” of the Social Card, inputs gathered from social workers and the beneficiaries of social assistance programs. Additionally, A 11 will seek input from other organisations in the Netherlands and Denmark who litigated against similar pieces of legislation in their countries.
"this practice violates citizens’ right to privacy and data protection, as well as excluding more and more people from the social protection system"
Strategic Goal
More marginalised citizens are protected against discriminatory and non-transparent technologies and government surveillance.