Věra Jourová on surveillance and Covid-19

Concern is growing that emergency powers deployed to control the coronavirus pandemic will be used to erode democracy and civil rights.

In a draft bill Hungary's ruling government seeks special powers uncontrolled by parliament, election, referendums, courts for an indefinite amount of time, rights' groups worry. The bill could be vote on within eight days.

Viktor Orban's government was quick to blame an Iranian legally studying in Hungary as his country's first coronavirus case. In fact, it was a Hungarian woman, who probably caught it in Italy.

The coronavirus outbreak has been a pretext for government censorship and a crackdown on journalists, who have been exposed to new criminal charges as well as violent attacks.

The renewed calls for action on Pegasus surveillance in Poland and Hungary came after Hungary's data protection authority, headed by an appointee of prime minister Viktor Orbán, said victims were legitimate targets.

The response of EU countries to the coronavirus outbreak has prompted unprecedented levels of surveillance, data exploitation, and misinformation. Privacy campaigners, and MEPs, have warned of future adverse side-effects.