(BRUSSELS) — Today, the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe, alongside 30 civil society and journalists’ organizations, published a joint statement on the use of surveillance spyware in the EU and beyond. The coalition is calling on incoming EU institutions to take necessary regulatory measures to address threats to fundamental rights posed by spyware in the new legislative term. This includes a ban on the production, sale, and use of spyware that grossly violates fundamental rights and for which strict safeguards would never be sufficient to mitigate harms caused to victims' rights.
The coalition has expressed deep concern over EU institutions’ failure to address the misuse of spyware technologies within the EU, which pose a serious threat to democratic values, public debate, and healthy civic spaces.
“The incoming EU institutions have the opportunity to correct the failures of the last legislature by taking concrete and decisive action against the abuse of spyware surveillance by governments and law enforcement agencies in the EU. European civil society is uniting to demand action and hold incoming lawmakers accountable,” says Silvia Lorenzo Perez, Director of CDT Europe’s Security, Surveillance and Human Rights Programme.
The statement cites findings from the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee, which revealed in May 2023 that a majority of EU Member States had acquired spyware, with some using it unlawfully against journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians. The coalition criticizes the recently adopted European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) for failing to protect journalists adequately, arguing that the law lacks crucial safeguards against surveillance.
The coalition urges the EU to implement a strict ban on producing, selling, and using spyware that violates fundamental rights and calls for a moratorium on these activities until robust safeguards are in place. They also emphasize stronger export controls by incorporating spyware into the EU Dual-Use Regulation and strengthening safeguards to ensure these tools aren’t used for repression or human rights abuses outside the EU.
Additionally, they demand more transparency in government contracts involving spyware and better accountability. The coalition calls on the EU Parliament to continue PEGA Committee's work toward fully implementing its recommendations. Immediate measures are demanded to protect individuals' rights from growing spyware threats while ensuring open consultations with civil society during decision-making processes.
Read the full statement here.
Coordination group
Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe)
Access Now
ARTICLE 19
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)
Data Rights
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Epicenter.works – for digital rights
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU)
Privacy International (PI)
Wikimedia Europe
Additional signatories
Aspiration
Digital Rights Ireland
Data Privacy Brasil
Centre for Peace Studies
Citizen D / Državljan D
Civil Rights Defenders
European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL)
Fundación Karisma (Colombia)
Homo Digitalis
Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (CILD)
IT-Pol Denmark
Ligue des droits humains (Belgium)
Panoptykon Foundation
Peace Institute (Slovenia)
Sflc.in (India)
Vrijschrift.org
Xnet, Institute for Democratic Digitalisation (Spain)
