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I would assume it‘s a deliberate „if number.startsWith("+1")" precisely so nobody ends up using it on a US politician or whatever who then goes on a rampage.

ywain 5y ago
I like to imagine that some developer commented out that line to allow for spying on Canadian persons and left a "TODO: find better way to identify US numbers" that was never fixed.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- peteretep 5y ago
  That’s hilarious, although I suspect “don’t hack the US” means “don’t hack five eyes” in practice
- bastawhiz 5y ago
  While it would be funny, Canadian phone numbers are pretty easy to identify, generally. They have their own set of area codes. Granted, there are exceptions, though I guess it depends on your interpretation of what it means to be a "US phone number".
notquitehuman 5y ago
Until they release some sort of irrefutable proof, why give them the benefit of the doubt? Their track record warrants assuming dishonesty.
- boomboomsubban 5y ago
  Everyone cares more about the optics of spying on US citizens than actually spying on US citizens. Like in this example, without the convenient excuse of "it's impossible" the headline likely would have been "Pegasus Project spies on US diplomat and French President."
aaaxyz 5y ago
The Israeli defense ministry has to approve sales contracts. I'm assuming they'd like to avoid spying on citizens of states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating.
- culturestate 5y ago
  > states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating It's almost certainly closer to the former than to the latter. Not that anyone sane would be likely to consider actual war over something like this, but while the French military may not be the force it once was it's still formidable and they are - theoretical willingness to engage notwithstanding - one of the declared nuclear powers.
- Leparamour 5y ago
  > I'm assuming they'd like to avoid spying on citizens of states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating. It's an open secret that Israel has been conducting economic and military espionage against the US[0][1][2] and stealing civilian and military technology for decades. This "blocking +1 numbers" is rather a thin veneer to prevent third parties from endangering the "official" Israeli espionage program. [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-spying-on-us-has-reached-terrifying-levels-2014-5?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-spying-on-us-has-rea... [1] https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/israel-white-house-spying-devices-1491351 https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/israel-white-house... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/world/middleeast/jonathan-pollard-israel-us-spy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/world/middleeast/jonathan...

ywain 5y ago

I like to imagine that some developer commented out that line to allow for spying on Canadian persons and left a "TODO: find better way to identify US numbers" that was never fixed.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
peteretep 5y ago
That’s hilarious, although I suspect “don’t hack the US” means “don’t hack five eyes” in practice
bastawhiz 5y ago
While it would be funny, Canadian phone numbers are pretty easy to identify, generally. They have their own set of area codes. Granted, there are exceptions, though I guess it depends on your interpretation of what it means to be a "US phone number".

notquitehuman 5y ago

Until they release some sort of irrefutable proof, why give them the benefit of the doubt? Their track record warrants assuming dishonesty.

boomboomsubban 5y ago
Everyone cares more about the optics of spying on US citizens than actually spying on US citizens. Like in this example, without the convenient excuse of "it's impossible" the headline likely would have been "Pegasus Project spies on US diplomat and French President."

aaaxyz 5y ago

The Israeli defense ministry has to approve sales contracts. I'm assuming they'd like to avoid spying on citizens of states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating.

culturestate 5y ago
> states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating It's almost certainly closer to the former than to the latter. Not that anyone sane would be likely to consider actual war over something like this, but while the French military may not be the force it once was it's still formidable and they are - theoretical willingness to engage notwithstanding - one of the declared nuclear powers.
Leparamour 5y ago
> I'm assuming they'd like to avoid spying on citizens of states they depend on militarily/politically or that have the capability of retaliating. It's an open secret that Israel has been conducting economic and military espionage against the US[0][1][2] and stealing civilian and military technology for decades. This "blocking +1 numbers" is rather a thin veneer to prevent third parties from endangering the "official" Israeli espionage program. [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-spying-on-us-has-reached-terrifying-levels-2014-5?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-spying-on-us-has-rea... [1] https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/israel-white-house-spying-devices-1491351 https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/12/israel-white-house... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/world/middleeast/jonathan-pollard-israel-us-spy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/world/middleeast/jonathan...