France, UK Join Forces to Push for Stricter Regulation of Commercial Spyware
France and Britain are jointly advocating for heightened global oversight of commercial surveillance software following the recent controversies involving Pegasus and Predator spyware, as disclosed by the French foreign ministry on Friday.
In a joint initiative announced at the Peace Forum in the French capital, Paris and London warned against the unregulated development and use of surveillance technology.
Acknowledging the potential legitimacy of spyware applications, the nations caution that the introduction of just "a few lines of code" could enable malicious use, posing significant threats to cybersecurity and human rights.
The French official said unregulated use could jeopardise the security,stability of cyberspace and raise concerns about human rights violations.
The ongoing menace of cyber attacks from state actors, criminal organisations, and activists has long been acknowledged. However, the legal availability and employment of commercial spyware now represent an expanding and concerning risk, according to the official.
Highlighting recent incidents, Amnesty International implicated Vietnamese agents in a global spyware campaign employing an EU-made software named Predator. Similar to the infamous Pegasus spyware by Israeli firm NSO that triggered a worldwide scandal two years ago, Predator seizes control of the camera and microphone of infected phones, essentially transforming them into covert surveillance devices.
Mediapart, collaborating with Germany's Spiegel magazine, reported that Predator had been sold to governments in Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. This underscores the global dimensions of the issue, with governments utilising such technology for potentially intrusive purposes.
In 2021, a media consortium exposed the widespread use of Pegasus software to spy on the phones of numerous politicians, journalists, human rights activists, and business leaders worldwide. The joint efforts of France and Britain reflect a growing awareness of the need for international cooperation to regulate the evolving landscape of surveillance technology and protect against its potential misuse.
