Watchdog groups Privacy International and Transparency Toolkit today announced the launch of their new Surveillance Industry Index (SSI), a searchable database containing data on 528 companies that supply surveillance technology to governments and corporations.
Leveraging information gathered from investigative reports, brochures, media clippings, public records, technical papers and government export licensing data, the SSI also includes details on over 600 exports of surveillance technologies.
In conjunction with the index, the organizations also have released a new report charting the surveillance industry's development and global reach. According to the report, 75% of the surveillance companies in the SII are headquartered in NATO states, with the U.S. leading the way.
Edin Omanovic, research officer at Privacy International, said in a press release that the launch of the SSI “provides much needed information about a secretive industry which has grown to meet government demand for more surveillance power.”
