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CPJ, partners urge EU to act now on spyware

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CPJ, partners urge EU to act now on spyware

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On July 6, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined over 30 partners in calling on the European Union to address the abuse of spyware in Europe.

The statement followed a forensic analysis by Citizen Lab that revealed how Stelios Kouloglou, former Member of the European Parliament and investigative journalist, was targeted and infected with Pegasus spyware in 2022 and 2023. The targeting also took place while Kouloglou was a member of the former European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA Committee).

The statement emphasizes the EU’s responsibility to defend independent oversight and protect fundamental rights, pointing to both “a structural failure to adequately and seriously respond to the spyware crisis in Europe” and “a rule of law emergency.”

CPJ has documented the repeated use of spyware to target journalists in Europe and has continued to call for the PEGA Committee recommendations to be implemented.

Read the full statement here.

Read the full article here

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