Digital rights report exposes rising AI‑abuse in Southeast Europe

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 3 hours ago |  JP Global Monitoring Desk

A BIRN report reveals a surge in AI‑driven digital rights abuses across Southeast Europe, including deepfakes, surveillance, and state-sponsored threats targeting journalists and activists.

Summary

PRISHTINA — A report released on November 24, 2025, by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) warns of a dramatic uptick in digital‑rights violations across Southeast Europe, fueled in large part by emerging AI technologies. The report, covering the period from September 2024 to August 2025, documented 1,440 incidents in ten countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.

The findings show a growing pattern of abuse using generative AI tools such as deepfakes and voice cloning. These technologies are reportedly being deployed to impersonate public figures, conduct phishing schemes, and commit fraud, often targeting women and children. The report also flags a rising trend of AI‑driven sexual and gender‑based violence and identity manipulation.

AI tools fueling abuse across the region

State surveillance is a key concern. Governments in the region are increasingly procuring facial‑recognition systems and digital‑forensics technologies from firms with dubious human‑rights credentials. These governments are also under pressure for weak legal protection, creating a climate where surveillance technologies are misused to suppress dissent.

Journalists are particularly exposed. The report documents a “lack of legal framework to halt misuse” of technology, combining smear campaigns, doxxing, and digital monitoring. In Serbia, for example, BIRN itself was targeted in smear campaigns, and at least one journalist received thousands of death threats.

AI undermining civic trust and freedom of information

Among the most alarming details is how AI is being weaponized to undermine civic trust. The report notes that 24.7 percent of violations involved threats to freedom and pluralism of information, while 24.2 percent concerned digital‑asset protection and economic rights. A further 23.8 percent involved threatening or harmful online behavior.

At a conference in Prishtina where the report was presented, BIRN Kosovo’s executive director, Jeta Xharra, stressed the urgent need for stronger regional cooperation and legal safeguards. She also noted that BIRN had trained 40 journalists across the region and produced 200 reports, activities that have already pushed some institutions to improve privacy protections.

Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani, speaking at the event, warned that technology is increasingly exploited to manipulate young people, foment division, and harass vulnerable groups. She noted in particular that hate‑speech on the internet is under-recognized in Albanian, since Google’s systems do not fully support the language, limiting the detection of abusive content.

Legal gaps threaten democratic oversight

Legal experts at the conference pointed to gaps in enforcement: even where laws exist, their practical implementation is weak. The report warns that without more robust oversight and regulation, state-backed misuse of AI and surveillance tools could undermine democratic institutions in Southeast Europe.

KEY POINTS:

• BIRN’s report logs 1,440 digital rights violations in 10 Southeast European countries from Sept 2024 to Aug 2025
• AI tools such as deepfakes and voice cloning are being misused for impersonation, fraud, and gendered abuse
• State surveillance is escalating, with governments acquiring facial recognition and forensic technologies
• Journalists are under threat via smear campaigns, digital monitoring, and doxxing
• More than 24 percent of violations involve threats to information freedom, and similar shares involve economic or civic rights
• Regional leaders call for stronger legal protections, cooperation, and more capacity-building for journalists

ATTRIBUTION: Reporting based on BIRN’s 2025 digital rights report.