Report: European governments hack into citizens’ phones and no one to check | Tech

That is the main conclusion of a report that MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld presented this morning in Brussels. Espionage software such as the originally Israeli Pegasus is not only used against criminals or foreign spies, but also within the EU against journalists and opposition members. “And not by chance or accident, it is part of a system,” said the D66 MEP at a press conference.

In ‘t Veld (D66) was sent to investigate by the European Parliament after it emerged last year that thousands of people, including several important politicians such as French President Emmanuel Macron, had been wiretapped. And ‘overheard’ is too old a word. Spyware can be used to take over a smartphone and extract all of its contents, including documents, images and messages. “Access to the victim’s system can be manipulated and fabricated content planted. The microphone and camera can be activated remotely and turn the device into a spy in the room. All the while, the victim is unaware of anything.”

The 159-page report about the Netherlands contains 1 page, and it is not necessarily black. The Dutch police are bound by strict rules if they want to purchase espionage software. The government acknowledges that the police have been using this technique since 2019, the report writes. “But the restrictions only apply to police use.” Very little is known about the security services. The Department of Defense had contact with WiSpear, a company that was previously acquired by the manufacturer of Predator spyware, in 2019, according to mail traffic. WiSpear had won a tender from the Dutch ministry, the report said. It is not clear whether a contract was eventually signed.

The report will be discussed in parliament in December. But the chairman of the parliamentary committee that deals with it, CDA MEP Jeroen Lenaers, already says that the report should generate more than just media attention. “European legislation is needed for the use of spyware by member states. In addition, import and export rules must be introduced for the purchase of spy software. It is also important that we establish the right to transparency for victims of wiretapping operations.”

Lenaers uses similar words as his D66 colleague: “The improper use of espionage software against journalists, activists and opposition politicians is a direct attack on the rule of law,” he says. “It is therefore high time that the Member States and the European Commission finally got going.”

Cooperation between member states is certainly not enough to tackle this problem, member states are often the offenders themselves, it has to be done through the Brussels institutions and Europol, writes In ‘t Veld in her report. Member States also refused to cooperate with its investigation. She said this morning that she expects the European Parliament to come up with concrete proposals after considering her report. Whether these will actually be introduced is another matter: The European Commission has the right of initiative in the EU and, according to In t Veld, it is too much on the lead of the member states.

She was hard about it this morning during her press conference: ,,Elon Musk recently took over Twitter. There is great concern and European Commissioner Thierry Breton immediately warned Musk that ‘In Europe the bird will fly according to our rules’. The Commission is determined to fight attacks on democracy from outside. But when the attacks on democracy come from within, the Commission remains silent. Then the defense of European democracy is no longer a European matter, but a matter for the Member States. The Commission shows muscle to Musk, but velvet gloves to Member States that use spyware on civilians.” Neither the Commission nor Member States have responded to the report.

Install espionage software to track journalists and activists worldwide via a phone. It sounds like a spy thriller, but according to international media it really happened: