Commercial spyware systematically abused by governments

Government spyware, long justified as a tool for targeting serious criminals, is being systematically abused to surveil journalists, activists, and political opponents on a widespread scale, according TechCrunch.

Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation notes a fundamental misunderstanding, stating that targeting is so easy governments now use it against "relatively minor political opponents, activists, and journalists."

This proliferation is fueled by a commercial licensing model where governments pay upfront for a set number of concurrent targets, creating an incentive to maximize usage. Countries with questionable human rights records often purchase licenses for high numbers of targets, virtually guaranteeing abuse.

The technology itself lowers the barrier, operating like a console where officials simply input a phone number to initiate surveillance. John Scott-Railton of The Citizen Lab describes this as a "huge abuse temptation" and a "threat to democracy."

While some accountability efforts are emerging, researchers question whether these measures can effectively curb a global multibillion-dollar market driven by high demand.