Portfolio 02
Spyware & Surveillance.
African-led investigation of commercial spyware, and the pathway from evidence to accountability.
The gap
The capacity to investigate sits far from the harm.
Africa is becoming an important environment for commercial spyware and sophisticated surveillance, yet much of the technical capacity to detect, investigate and expose these systems has historically been concentrated outside the continent.
We are building that capacity where the harm occurs, and connecting technical evidence to the legal, institutional and policy mechanisms that can turn disclosure into accountability.
From disclosure to accountability, built where the harm occurs.
Our position
Our thinking
Three positions we hold.
01
Detection without accountability is incomplete
Finding an infection matters, but the value of that finding increases when it can support litigation, human rights mechanisms, advocacy and policy reform.
02
The expertise must be rooted in Africa
Investigators need more than technical skill. They need contextual knowledge of local political environments, institutions, languages and threat actors, and the trust of the people they investigate for.
03
Disclosure is the beginning of the accountability process
Publishing a case does not by itself protect a target, disrupt a surveillance operation or change policy. The field needs stronger pathways from discovery to protection, intelligence sharing and legal follow-through.
Our approach
Four lines of work.
From a fellowship in 2024, to Purple Lab, to a continental consortium, and next to regional hubs and a litigation pathway.
Step 01
Build investigators, not dependency
In 2024, we launched an African-grown spyware fellowship to develop specialist investigative capacity on the continent. That work evolved into Purple Lab, our surveillance research facility, and subsequently into a broader continental consortium.
Step 02
Build African infrastructure for collective investigation
With a group of partners across Africa, we have established a collaborative African capability for spyware investigation and accountability, the biggest on the continent.
Step 03
Build the infrastructure, framework, models and talent.
We have continued to build the infrastructure, frameworks, models and, importantly, talent to lead from the front in digital forensics, threat intelligence, mobile forensics and malware analysis.
Step 04
Connect evidence to accountability
The next phase of the work is designed around regional investigation hubs, an African-led litigation pathway with access to relevant African Union mechanisms, and a shared post-disclosure threat intelligence platform.
Partnered with
- West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)
- The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL)
- Nigeria Media Innovation Program (NAMIP) Media Development Investment Fund
- DefendDefenders
- Digital Society of Africa (DSA)
- Open Technology Fund Funder
- TechSoup