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> The supply of spyware to authoritarian and other rights-abusing governments has become a truly urgent threat to human rights and press freedom—an “existential
by nostrebored 4y ago
> The supply of spyware to authoritarian and other rights-abusing governments has become a truly urgent threat to human rights and press freedom—an “existential crisis for journalism around the world,” as the Committee to Protect Journalists put it in a recent statement. David Kaye, the former U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, has called for a moratorium on the sale of spyware, and in recent months others have joined his call.
There is no principled take here. This is a problem with who the software was sold to, not that the software was sold.
- worik 4y ago> There is no principled take here. This is a problem with who the software was sold to, not that the software was sold. Untrue. In any hands tools like these, combined with the vulnerable consumer products, are dreadful. Selling tools like these to anybody is unethical. If they buy these tools they are up to no good.
- balls187 4y agoIt’s not that black and white. If such a tool could have prevented 9/11 (the argument that NSO makes) isn’t that a good? What is problematic is that these tools are used with very little transparency and oversight (not necessarily disclosing vulnerabilities) which allows such tools to be targeted on not just “criminals” but also anyone organizations/nation states deems problematic (journalists, advocates, dissidents, etc)