 | | 30/07/2021: The spy who lives in my phone 📱 | | | Hi Values, | We recently learned that a dozen governments have availed themselves of highly sophisticated technology to spy on people they don't like.
Last week, we gave a nod to investigative journalists – who were often the targets – and highlighted their crucial role in our cause, as well as the breakthroughs their work enables. This week, we look at what incriminated governments have said since the stories broke.
From authoritarian regimes to troubled democracies, the responses from these governments have been remarkably similar. Most have resorted to obfuscation and have denied using the spyware against journalists, activists and dissidents. |  | | Image: Nazarova Mariia / Shutterstock | In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's office dismissed the allegations, emphasising that their country is a "democratic state governed by the rule of law."
Halfway across the world in India, the central government has labelled the Pegasus Project investigations as being "based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions."
The official line has differed only in Mexico, where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's allies and family members were reported as possible surveillance targets during his predecessor's time. The President called the alleged spying "shameful" and said that the government's contract with NSO Group must be cancelled, if it is still active.
This isn't the first time government surveillance made news in the country. Mexico's civil society has decried the use of Pegasus since 2017. Allegations of corruption in the procurement of spyware – that cost US$300 million in taxpayer money – were also widely discussed during the 2018 presidential race.
Corruption in the procurement of spyware is not hard to believe. The former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, allegedly misused public funds to contract NSO Group's services. He is currently on trial for unlawful wiretapping, but we did not hide our disappointment when he was cleared of embezzlement charges on a technicality in 2019. | | There is no doubt that surveillance tech in the hands of governments who are already mistreating journalists and activists opens doors to corruption. They wish to further concentrate their power and to limit civil society's ability to keep them in check. But they won't succeed because we have the power of the people on our side. | | Daniel Eriksson, Chief Executive Officer, Transparency International Secretariat | | | | It's not all bad news, however. In Brazil, recent activism by civil society – including Transparency International Brazil – against the planned purchase of spyware seems to have borne fruit. The NSO Group has reportedly withdrawn its bid to provide services to a government ministry following the controversy over apparent irregularities.
Our colleagues in Brazil intend to remain vigilant to see that the ministry suspends its plan altogether. They are also calling on the authorities to urgently release an inventory of every spying tool currently in the possession of all Brazilian judicial and law enforcement agencies.
As we grapple with the new realities of the surveillance industry, we need to address the corruption and back-door deals that allow it to go unchecked.
In the coming weeks and months, governments who use public funds to purchase spyware with little to no accountability, to further constrain accountability, will have to answer many questions. The common good needs to be at the centre of the debate.
| | From Twitter |  | | Tunisia's political crisis | | The President of Tunisia has fired the prime minister and suspended the parliament after protests by citizens against the mishandling of COVID-19 by the government. This could have massive repercussions for the young democracy. See our thread.
|  | | Vice President of Equatorial Guinea convicted for embezzlement | | France's highest appeal court has upheld a guilty verdict against Teodorin Obiang, Vice President of Equatorial Guinea for embezzlement. After 14 years of proceedings, the sentence opens a new chapter: return of the assets. This was always the goal of Transparency International France, one of the civil parties involved in the case. See our thread.
|  | | Head of Guatemala's anti-corruption unit ousted | | Last week, Guatemala's Attorney General Consuelo Porras removed Juan Francisco Sandoval, an internationally renowned corruption prosecutor, from his post as head of the anti-corruption unit. Our chapter is initiating legal action. See our thread.
| | | | Help put an end to corruption. Support our work: | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment