EPIC, Coalition Urge EU Polish Presidency to Prioritize Action Against Spyware Misuse

EPIC, alongside 13 civil society organizations, has sent a joint letter to the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, urging them to prioritize decisive action against spyware misuse.

2024 was a major election year in the European Union (EU) and Poland will assume the rotating presidency of the EU in January 2025. This role, held by each EU member state for six months, allows the presiding country to set the Council’s agenda, chair meetings, and represent the Council in negotiations with other EU institutions. This makes the presidency a crucial opportunity to influence the EU’s policy making priorities and focus.

While the United States has taken concrete action to address state use of commercial spyware and engage in commercial sanctions and visa bans against spyware companies engaging in human rights abuses, the EU has failed to take similar action. The EU Parliament and the European Data Protection Board have denounced the widespread abuse of spyware by EU governments, but have done nothing to meaningfully address these abuses.

The signatories urge the Polish presidency to use its position to decisively oppose and penalize this grave threat to fundamental rights.

EPIC regularly advocates for greater oversight of surveillance systems and closely tracks government procurement, use, and export of spyware to ensure that fundamental human rights are protected. Recently, EPIC joined a letter sent to the DHS regarding its $2 million contract with well-known spyware developer Paragon Solutions. EPIC also filed a friend of the court brief in the Ninth Circuit arguing that foreign spyware is not exempt from prosecution under the CFAA in the United States. EPIC is also a part of an international coalition to address the unchecked spread of spyware in the European Union and beyond, which helped coordinate this joint letter.