The Biden administration announced today Monday a new executive order banning US federal agencies from using commercial spyware that threatens human rights and national security.
The move to ban federal agencies – including law enforcement, defense and intelligence agencies – from using commercial spyware comes as officials confirmed that dozens of US government personnel had phone devices that were being monitored.
Human rights advocates and security researchers have warned for years about the dangers of commercial spyware, which is created by the private sector and sold almost exclusively to governments.
The White House (Biden) told reporters before signing the order that the United States was trying to overcome the problem and set standards for other governments and allies that buy and develop commercial spyware.
The order is the latest move by the government in recent years, along with a ban on some spyware makers from operating in the US. Along with all of this, laws have been passed that aim to limit the use and supply of spyware by federal agencies.
This of course does not mean that Americans are safe. Because we live in Greece, we have fresh memories of the government surveillance of telephone devices and the laws that came after the revelations and try to reduce the political costs.
However, this does not mean that the secret services will stop working because they fear legal sanctions, or respect our privacy.
