Surveilled (2024) is a compelling HBO documentary directed by Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, featuring investigative journalist Ronan Farrow. The film delves into the alarming world of advanced surveillance technologies, focusing on the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. Initially marketed to governments for combating crime and terrorism, Pegasus has been misused to monitor journalists, activists, and political dissidents, raising significant ethical and privacy concerns.

Farrow embarks on a global investigation, traveling to locations such as Tel Aviv, Spain, and Washington D.C., to uncover the extent of Pegasus’s deployment. He interviews various stakeholders, including NSO Group representatives, whistleblowers, and cybersecurity experts. Notably, Farrow gains access to NSO Group’s headquarters, where company officials assert that their technology is intended solely for legitimate governmental use. However, evidence presented in the documentary suggests that Pegasus has been employed beyond its official scope, targeting individuals in democratic nations and contributing to human rights abuses.

The documentary highlights the invasive capabilities of Pegasus, which can infiltrate smartphones without detection, accessing personal data, activating microphones and cameras, and tracking locations. This level of intrusion effectively transforms personal devices into surveillance tools, compromising the privacy of unsuspecting individuals. The film also explores the psychological impact on those targeted, emphasizing the pervasive fear and mistrust engendered by such surveillance.

“Surveilled” underscores the urgent need for international regulation of spyware technologies. Despite some efforts by the U.S. government to restrict the use of foreign spyware, the documentary reveals that many countries, including Western democracies, continue to explore or utilize such technologies, often without adequate oversight. This lack of regulation poses a significant threat to democratic principles and individual freedoms worldwide.

Through Farrow’s meticulous reporting and the film’s insightful interviews, “Surveilled” serves as a stark warning about the erosion of privacy in the digital age. It challenges viewers to reconsider their relationship with technology and the potential consequences of ubiquitous surveillance. The documentary concludes with the unsettling notion that achieving true privacy may require drastic measures, such as abandoning smartphones altogether.

Surveilled is a thought-provoking exposé that sheds light on the dark underbelly of modern surveillance, urging a reevaluation of the balance between security and personal freedom.