Despite promises of limited use, government spyware is increasingly targeting activists, journalists, and political opponents — even in democracies.
Spyware: No Longer Rare or Targeted
For years, spyware vendors like NSO Group and Paragon have insisted their surveillance tools are used only in exceptional cases — to track terrorists, criminals, and national security threats.
But global evidence tells a different story.
- Journalists, activists, and political opponents — including in democratic nations — are being routinely targeted.
- The recent case of an Italian political consultant being hacked with Paragon’s spyware is just the latest in a growing list of abuses.
As Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains, “Being targeted doesn’t mean you’re Public Enemy Number One — it just means it was easy.”
Spyware Tools Are Designed for Broad Use
One key reason why non-criminals are getting hacked lies in the business model of spyware itself.
- When governments purchase spyware, they often pay a flat fee based on the number of simultaneous targets they can monitor.
- Leaked documents from firms like the now-defunct Hacking Team showed some governments could spy on unlimited users.
- In countries with poor human rights records, this model practically invites misuse, extending surveillance far beyond legitimate threats.
Governments like Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have all been caught using spyware to target journalists and dissidents multiple times.
It’s Frighteningly Easy to Use
Spyware systems are now shockingly simple to operate.
- Government operators just enter a phone number into a console — and the surveillance begins.
- Tools like NSO’s Pegasus or Paragon’s Graphite run in the background, often without the victim knowing.
This ease of use fuels what John Scott-Railton of Citizen Lab calls the “huge abuse temptation” governments face.
“Spyware needs to be treated like the threat to democracy and elections that it is,” he warns.
No Oversight, No Accountability
One of the most dangerous aspects of the spyware industry is the lack of transparency.
- Governments aren’t required to disclose who they’re targeting.
- Spyware companies often refuse to name the abusive customers they’ve cut off — if they do at all.
Even when companies like NSO say they’ve disconnected 10 clients, they won’t name names. It’s unknown whether notorious abusers like Mexico or Saudi Arabia are on that list.
And while Paragon publicly cut ties with Italy, it did so only after the government declined to cooperate in an abuse investigation.
The Global Response Is Finally Taking Shape
There are early signs of accountability, but they remain limited.
- Greece and Poland have launched internal investigations.
- The United States, under the Biden administration, has sanctioned spyware vendors like Cytrox, Intellexa, and NSO Group — even targeting their executives.
- A coalition of Western nations, led by the U.K. and France, is trying to curtail the spyware market through diplomacy.
Still, this is a multibillion-dollar industry with rising demand, and vendors remain eager to sell to any government with the budget and willingness to surveil.
A Threat to Everyone, Not Just the “Guilty”
What’s most concerning is the normalization of surveillance against innocent people — often without any legal recourse.
- The “rare and targeted” myth has been shattered.
- Victims are often low-profile political rivals, activists, or journalists, chosen simply because they criticized authority or stood in the way.
The increasing misuse shows that spyware isn’t just a law enforcement tool — it’s becoming a political weapon.
