Feb. 6 (UPI) — The United States has announced new powers to impose visa restrictions on foreign nationals who misuse commercial spyware, the latest effort by the Biden administration to protect national security from this growing threat.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday in a statement announcing the new powers that the United States is concerned about the growing worldwide misuse of commercial spyware to repress people, restrict the flow of information and enable human rights abuses.
“The misuse of commercial spyware threatens privacy and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” he said.
“Such targeting has been linked to arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the most egregious of cases.”
He added that the misuse of such tools is a threat to U.S. security and counterintelligence.
“The United States stands on the side of human rights and fundamental freedoms and will continue to promote accountability for individuals involved in commercial spyware misuse,” he said.
The new policy was implemented by the State Department nearly a year after President Joe Biden signed an executive order prohibiting the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware on grounds that its proliferation poses risks to national security and foreign policy interests.
Days after the executive order was signed, the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Britain, the United States and other democratic allies issued a statement announcing joint efforts to combat the misuse of commercial spyware.
Under the Biden administration, the United States has also implemented export restrictions on several companies that make such products, including Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group, known for developing the Pegasus software, which has been used to target journalists.
Earlier this month, the non-profit Access Now, which promotes digital rights for all, said in a report that Jordan is likely using Pegasus to keep tabs on journalists, activists, human rights lawyers and the non-governmental sector.
