The deployment of innovative and emerging technologies in Morocco has undergone a fast expansion since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, sparking several debates about the risks and problems associated with the technology in question, such as mass surveillance, discrimination, censorship, opacity and a lack of robust regulation. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in Morocco, with the government introducing a variety of measures to control the spread of COVID-19 by deploying and testing emerging digital technologies and biometric systems such as digital identity, a COVID-19 contact tracing app, a vaccine passport, and the widespread installation of facial recognition software into surveillance cameras. Over the past few years, authorities in Morocco have been ramping up efforts to adopt digital technologies while investing millions of dollars in AI-based solutions and tech-solutions, based on the idea that new technology is always the best solution and can solve all problems. The authorities say that their goal is to promote economic growth, increase digitalisation, and strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem through the new Maroc Digital 2020 strategy and the creation of the Digital Development Agency. However, these emerging technologies, coupled with the strong political and military presence in public life, are harming Morocco’s human rights far more than the economic development they promote, and threatening the protection, promotion and enjoyment of human rights. Although the Moroccan constitution protects freedom of expression and the right to privacy, it also allows for the surveillance of private communications in certain circumstances, with judicial approval. There are many ambiguous areas involving the discretionary powers granted to judges and intelligence agencies, as well as challenges related to the judiciary's lack of independence and the lack of public scrutiny and proper oversight over the work of intelligence services and their operations. Morocco also has a national regulation for the protection of personal data in place (No.09-08 of 2009), but the law contains vague and broadly defined concepts that would exempt personal data collected and processed in the interest of national defense and the state's internal or external security from protection. In recent years, Morocco has seen increasing reports of journalists, political activists, and human rights defenders having been unlawfully targeted by NSO’s pegasus spyware. These people were subsequently detained, prosecuted on politically motivated charges, tortured and ill-treated. Among them is prominent activist and investigative journalist Omar Radi, who was arrested multiple times and jailed for six years after a judicial process marred by violations of his fair trial rights. In the context of the global health situation, digital surveillance enabled the Moroccan authorities to extend their authoritarian reach by silencing the voices of popular dissent, independent media, and opposition figures. This comes with rising fears that digital surveillance will be sustained beyond the end of the COVID-19 crisis. Moroccan authorities have placed the regulation of biometric facial recognition software in the hands of the Moroccan National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection (‘CNDP’), which has announced a seven-month moratorium on its use by public or private entities as of September 2, 2019 — a significant step forward in setting guidelines for the use of biometric authentication systems in general and facial recognition technologies in particular. CNDP raised concerns over the technology’s impact on people’s privacy and fundamental rights and announced the need for extended consultations with public and private stakeholders, civil society representatives, and local and international experts. While CNDP has extended the moratorium on the use of biometric facial recognition until the end of 2020, there were no further reports about banning biometric systems beyond 2020. #Morocco is listed as country using #Chinese facial recognition linked to public security/surveillance objectives . @saillabs #securtiy #surveillance https://t.co/7XuKk9jgUc — Ali Zoubeidi (@DrAZoubeidi) January 22, 2020 In April 2021, the Ministry of Interior reportedly distributed a non-public call for tenders worth half a billion Moroccan dirhams to equip drones and CCTV cameras with facial recognition systems in Casablanca to monitor citizen movement, limit “delinquency,” and detect persons who do not wear masks or respect COVID-19 social distancing measures. The biometric system will also rely on centralized data centers, databases, and algorithms that analyze citizens’ movement and behaviors.