The High Commissioner has emphasized that... Internet shutdowns... contravene international law, affecting States’ obligations to respect, in addition to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, a wide range of rights, including freedom of association and of movement and the rights to health and education... While it is primarily the duty of States to avoid resorting to shutdowns, private companies also have a responsibility... providers could play a role in challenging Internet shutdown requests from governments and keep their customers informed of developments.

... The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has called for the prohibition of indiscriminate and untargeted surveillance of those exercising their right of peaceful assembly... Online surveillance technologies and interference in communications often lead to harassment and intimidation... [F]acial recognition technology may perpetuate and amplify discrimination, including against Afrodescendants and other minorities...

... [T]he High Commissioner recommends that States:

• Prohibit the use of surveillance techniques for the indiscriminate and untargeted surveillance of those exercising the right of peaceful assembly and association... and ensure that targeted surveillance measures are authorized only when there is reasonable suspicion that a particular individual has committed or is committing a criminal offence, or is engaged in acts amounting to a specific threat to national security
• Ensure that an assessment of the risk of human rights violations and abuses facilitated by surveillance technology is a key factor in decisions on export licences...
• Systematically conduct human rights due diligence before deploying facial recognition technology devices and throughout the entire life cycle of the tools deployed...
• Establish effective, independent and impartial oversight mechanisms for the use of facial recognition technology