Thread by @RonDeibert

BREAKING News: 🇺🇸 @POTUS @WhiteHouse issues Executive Order: limits federal government use of commercial #spyware from vendors that target US persons + facilitate human rights violations / transnational repression...
axios.com/2023/03/27/bid…

The EO prohibits use from commercial spyware firms whose technology is used to target activists, academics, journalists and other members of civil society, or is used by states with a track record of systematic human rights violations
whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…

The EO also prohibits use that presents a national security risk to the US, as when the spyware has been used to target U.S. personnel without legal authorization 👇

Context: 🇺🇸 identified devices associated with 50 U.S. gov personnel abroad — across at least 10 countries —… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

This EO is a very positive development:

✅ Sends signal, business as usual for mercenary spyware firms + investors is over
✅ Incentivizes other countries to follow suit
✅ Eliminates the highly lucrative U.S. federal intelligence market from serial offenders (e.g., NSO Group)

As my colleague @davidakaye says 👇 this positive step would not be possible without a large community of orgs and individuals documenting abuses, advocating for change, and shedding a light on harms.

+ so many courageous victims stepping forward...

https://twitter.com/davidakaye/status/1640389283977764865?s=20

My @citizenlab colleague @jsrailton has an explainer 🧵 👇

https://twitter.com/jsrailton/status/1640383736729542662?s=20

Reporting from @snlyngaas @CNN ⬇️

cnn.com/2023/03/27/pol…

And more details from @dnvolz @WSJ on the EO and the discovery that dozens of 🇺🇸 personnel's phones were hacked with spyware wsj.com/articles/biden… ⬇️

Reporting: @nakashimae / @timstarks describe senior White House officials as being "astounded" by number of US gov employees targeted with spyware overseas and they "cannot rule out that there will be more instances" washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

Note: the EO also describes how #spyware abuse is not just an authoritarian state problem

Spyware has been used within democracies "to target their citizens without proper legal authorization, safeguards, and oversight."

i.e., 🇪🇸 🇬🇷 🇸🇻 🇵🇱 🇭🇺

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…

....And a huge epidemic of abuses in 🇲🇽

citizenlab.ca/2022/10/new-pe…

Does it solve everything everywhere all at once? No.

Is there a lot of work still to be done? Definitely.

Bottom line for me: This EO turned a dial a few notches & in doing so moved a giant machine in a way that will make life difficult for people who profit from and cause… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…