Spyware is a form of malware that governments use to exploit communication systems and devices by exfiltrating user data. Spyware can not only compromise privacy, it can compromise trust in the use of technology.
CDT advocates guardrails on the acquisition and use of spyware. Commercially available spyware has been abused to spy on journalists, dissidents and activists. Guardrails can help ensure that spyware is not sold to governmental entities with records of abuse, and ensure that it isn’t purchased from companies who permit their spyware to be abused.
Joint Statement: Pegasus in the European Parliament, the EU Must Act Now
CDT Europe is publishing a joint statement with civil society organisations and individual signatories calling on the EU institutions to regulate spyware technologies after the 2026 Citizen Lab revelations.
Response to the OHCHR’s Call for Inputs on Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Digital Age
CDT and CDT Europe welcome the opportunity to provide input into OHCHR’s drafting process of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to HRC resolution 58/23 on “Human rights defenders and new and emerging technologies: protecting human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in the digital age”.
From Export Control to Unknown Exports: How the EU’s Dual-Use Regime Falls Short on Tackling Spyware
CDT Europe’s first research report examines how the Dual Use regulation which oversees export controls is enforced in practice across four EU Member States, and whether the legislation addresses ongoing human rights concerns in relations to the export of spyware technologies.
