Eleven Countries Commit To Controls On Commercial Spyware - White House

The US and ten other countries have issued a joint statement committing to implementing domestic and international controls on commercial spyware

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) The US and ten other countries have issued a joint statement committing to implementing domestic and international controls on commercial spyware.

"We, the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, recognize the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware and the need for strict domestic and international controls on the proliferation and use of such technology," the release read.

The countries committed, subject to national legal frameworks, to implementing the Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies and the Code of Conduct developed within the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative.

They noted that spyware was often used to intimidate opponents, curb dissent, limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or association, enable human rights violations, and suppress civil liberties. They warned that the abuse of commercial spyware posed a growing, significant risk to national security, including to government information systems.