How ISPs Enable Mass Surveillance in Spain

This article examines the role of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Spain as central actors in mass digital surveillance. By providing the routers and modems that connect households to the internet, companies like Movistar, Digi, Orange, and Vodafone gain access to virtually all online activity of their users. This positions ISPs as holders of highly valuable personal data, which can be exploited for both commercial and political purposes. A notable example is the 2023 European project TrustPid, also known as the ‘European Supercookie,’ designed to track mobile internet usage for targeted advertising. Unlike regular cookies, these trackers are embedded by the ISPs themselves, making them difficult for users to detect or remove. Legal frameworks, particularly Spain’s Law 7/2021, further facilitate this surveillance under the guise of public safety and crime prevention. While formally aimed at criminal investigations, the law allows authorities to request almost any user data from ISPs, expanding the state’s surveillance capabilities significantly. Historically, Spanish telecom companies have cooperated readily with government requests, reinforcing a surveillance infrastructure where ISPs are key enablers of monitoring citizens’ digital lives.