EPIC Comments on EU Commission Spyware Guidelines

EPIC has submitted comments to the EU Commission’s call to inform the Commission’s efforts to strengthen export controls on certain cyber-surveillance items like spyware. EPIC’s comments commended the EU Commission for its efforts to ensure proper due diligence by industry stakeholders but reiterated the need for a moratorium on at least the most intrusive forms of cyber-surveillance, such as spyware. EPIC also urged the Commission to expand the scope of the guidelines’ due diligence obligations to include the abuse of any surveillance items, not just those that fit the definition of cyber-surveillance.

EPIC has previously submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the FBI and DEA seeking information about their connections to spyware companies. EPIC’s Project on Surveillance Oversight has long advocated against surveillance of digital devices.