SERBIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Vladimir Djeric, Katarina Radovic and Lena Petrovic, Mikijelj, Janković & Bogdanović
According to the report, Serbian police and the Security Information Agency (BIA) were using a domestically developed spyware known as “NoviSpy”. The spyware was secretly installed on individuals’ devices while they were in detention or being interviewed by the police, in situations when their devices were temporarily seized. The use of spyware is completely illegal and political - ly driven, as the data extracted in such manner cannot be used in any legal proceedings. The spyware could capture sensitive personal data and remotely activate a device’s microphone or camera. Also, the report states that the authori - ties were using mobile forensic tools from the Israeli company Cellebrite to extract data from mobile devices. Devices would be unlocked by the Cellebrite’s tools and spyware would then be installed onto the device. The report also recalled previous attempts of the Serbian authorities to use surveillance tools that disregarded the limits of legal provisions on the lawfulness of surveillance measures and proce - dures for their implementation, eg, Pegasus and Predator spyware which had been used in pre - vious years. Surveillance measures are excep - tional measures which may be imposed only in accordance with a strictly defined procedure and under strict conditions. They should be narrow and focused on a specific target and not abused for mass unauthorised surveillance. The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Information Agency rejected these claims, stating that the forensic tools they deploy are in line with the police practice worldwide and entirely within the legal framework provided by the Serbian legislation. Political and environmental activists, journalists and members of civil society who experienced unlawful surveillance were seriously concerned
about their safety and the confidentiality of their communications. Human rights organisations and civil society groups defined this practice as a serious violation of privacy, freedom of expres - sion and freedom of assembly and requested the authorities to conduct serious investigations and punish those involved in this practice. State authorities did not comment further on this topic. Violation of Privacy of Political Activists In 2024, during the student-led anti-corruption protests in Serbia, certain pro-government media outlets published personal data, includ - ing passport photographs, of student protesters. This action represents a pure violation of privacy and personal data protection laws in Serbia. First, the Constitution of the Republic of Ser - bia explicitly prohibits the use of personal data beyond the purpose for which it was collected, stating that such misuse is both prohibited and punishable. Secondly, the Personal Data Protection Act defines personal data as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. It mandates that personal data must be processed lawfully and collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes. Thirdly, the Law on Public Information and Media prohibits the publication of information from an individual’s private life or personal records with - out the consent of the individual concerned (per - sonal documents and images included). The publication of students’ passport photos by media outlets represents unauthorised use of personal data contravening both the Constitu - tion and the Personal Data Protection Act. It is also an invasion of privacy because disclosing
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