Surveillance, Suppression, and Stephen Harper: The Alarming Ties Behind Hungary’s Anti-LGBTQ Crackdown

April 13, 2025

Hungary’s government, under far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has just passed a sweeping law that bans all Pride events and criminalizes any public expression or portrayal of homosexuality.

This isn’t just a one-off event it’s part of a larger pattern of authoritarianism that includes Orbán’s close relationships with figures like Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and yes Stephen Harper, Canada’s former Prime Minister

If you’ve followed my reporting, you know I’ve been raising alarm bells about Orbán’s alliances for some time. But the most disturbing part of this new law goes beyond censorship it legalizes a state-run surveillance regime targeting anyone who dares to defy it.

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Facial Recognition to Track Protesters

As part of enforcing the Pride ban, the Hungarian government will now use facial recognition technology to identify and monitor people who protest or violate the new law. This includes scanning crowds, matching faces against government databases, and issuing fines or charges not unlike what we’ve seen used against political dissidents in Russia or China.

Hungary already has tens of thousands of AI-powered surveillance cameras installed throughout the country. These feeds are fully accessible to the police, and now, thanks to this new law, they’ll be used to hunt down those who simply show up in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

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The Companies Powering Orbán’s Surveillance State

Here’s where it gets especially alarming.

In 2022, Balkan Insight reported that Hungary’s surveillance infrastructure is powered in part by two Israeli companies:

• Corsight AI, which specializes in real-time facial recognition

• Viisights, which provides behavioral video analytics (like identifying "suspicious" movements or protests)

These technologies are used to scan public spaces and flag individuals based on appearance or behavior. Both companies have also been used in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israeli military and are known for operating in highly militarized, high-surveillance environments.

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Stephen Harper’s Connection

Here’s the kicker: Stephen Harper is not just a fan of Viktor Orbán. He is the Chair of the Advisory Committee of AWZ Ventures, a Canadian-Israeli venture capital firm that invests in you guessed it Corsight AI and Viisights.

Harper’s firm doesn’t just invest lightly. AWZ Ventures was a lead funder of Viisights’ Series A round and is still actively showcasing Corsight AI in its portfolio. These aren’t passive investments they are part of a coordinated effort to promote surveillance and “public safety” technologies globally, including in illiberal democracies.

So let’s recap:
Orbán bans Pride.
Orbán deploys facial recognition to track LGBTQ+ supporters.
Harper is financially tied to the very companies supplying that facial recognition.
And Harper just publicly endorsed Pierre Poilievre who regularly praises Harper as a model of leadership.

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What Does Pierre Poilievre Think?

Poilievre talks about Stephen Harper like he’s Canada’s gold standard. He praises his economic policies, defends his legacy, and now receives his full political backing.

So here’s the question:

Does Pierre support Harper’s role in helping foreign governments surveil and criminalize LGBTQ+ communities?
And if not will he say anything about it?

Because silence, in this case, isn’t neutral it’s complicity.

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If you think this is the kind of story that needs to be heard share it, talk about it, and ask the questions no one else is asking.

We’re watching Pride be criminalized in the heart of Europe and the surveillance tools enforcing it trace right back to a former Canadian Prime Minister.

Balkan Insight