Internet Governance Glossary
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Monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting them originally as a tool of public authorities to maintain social control, today, can be carried out by any person or organization with sufficient funds for using powerful ICT tools for this kind of monitoring.
While Internet surveillance is considered to some extent a necessity against cybercrime and other Internet misuses, powerful surveillance tools could potentially endanger some fundamental human rights, particularly privacy and freedom of expression depending on those applying these tools. Therefore, the Convention on Cybercrime reinforced the discussion about the balance between cybersecurity and fundamental human rights.