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Cybersecurity & Standards, Government Surveillance

CDT Joins Civil Society Orgs and Independent Experts Calling for Investigation and Regulation of the Sale, Transfer and Use of Surveillance Technology

Today, the Center for Democracy & Technology joined scores of civil society organizations and experts around the world in urging governments to regulate the export, sale and use of technology being used to break into cell phones and other digital devices.

The open letter, spearheaded by Access Now and Amnesty International, follows revelations that Pegasus spyware made by the Israel-based NSO Group has been found on the phones of activists, journalists and heads of state. It was also found on the phones of members of the family of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and lawful permanent resident of the U.S. who was murdered in 2018 in the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey.

The letter calls on governments to investigate the sale and export of such technology, to require human rights due diligence and transparency by companies that manufacture it, to subject such companies to independent oversight, and to establish or strengthen redress mechanisms for people who are harmed by unlawful surveillance.

Read the full letter here.