Could this be the Start of the End for Spyware?

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Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order that bars federal agencies from using foreign or domestic commercial spyware that poses a risk to national security or has been used by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses around the world. The White House has confirmed that over 50 government personnel overseas have been targeted with commercial spyware. This adds to the hundreds of cases of people around the world being unlawfully targeted. This step by the U.S. was swiftly followed up by a joint commitment to international cooperation from 10 countries including Norway, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and others to put an end to the abuse of this dangerous tech.

The Executive Order offers a comprehensive, inter-agency policy response to commercial spyware that will likely have ramifications beyond the U.S. and its executive agencies. The U.S. is leveraging its purchasing power and closing the door in the face of vendors who ignore the potential abuses of their tech. Commercial spyware is a dangerous weapon and its use is incompatible with our fundamental rights. The available market for abusive technologies will continue to shrink, and repressive governments will have fewer and fewer sophisticated surveillance tools available to them.

However, there are no mechanisms in place to help protect those outside the walls of democratic leadership, or those whose governments simply want to keep things the way they are. While more public and private efforts ramp up in the face of spyware, powers like the Myanmar junta can still easily get their hands on it, further entrenching their systemic control over millions of people. Even democracies like Germany and 14 other EU member states have purchased and utilized these technologies, reinforcing the urgent need for an international framework to govern spyware use. These tools are unsafe in any hands.

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Following the announcement of international cooperation between the U.S., UK, France, and others to instigate real and effective change, there must be a commitment to build on the current momentum and roll out similar domestic regulation to the U.S., ensure adequate funding for these commitments, leverage markets and decision-making power to put an end to this cyber armoury, and shepherd an international ban on abusive commercial spyware. The responsibility lies on the shoulders of these like-minded states to usher us into a safer world for women, human rights defenders, journalists, dissidents, and those challenging the status quo globally.

The Executive Order does not rein in state and local agency procurement of spyware. Yet, coupled with the joint commitment, it sends a loud and clear signal to vendors and investors that the rules of the game are changing. Opaque ethics boards and toothless human rights policies will no longer be the gateway to doing business with the U.S. and its allies. It's time to build a global framework to prohibit abusive spyware.

While the Executive Order is not a solution to everything, it is a big step forward on a long march and sets an example for other governments. Next, we urgently need a wide commitment from stakeholders across the board for an immediate moratorium. The responsibility lies on the shoulders of these like-minded states to usher us into a safer world for women, human rights defenders, journalists, dissidents, and those challenging the status quo globally. It's time to build a global framework to prohibit abusive spyware.