President Joe Biden Signs Executive Order to Restrict U.S. Government’s Use of Commercial Spyware Tools

The White House announced on Monday that President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to restrict the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware tools. These tools have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.

The executive order sets guidelines for the companies that produce the spyware, in an effort to curtail its abuse. A White House official said that the number of known victims who work for the U.S. spans “at least 10 countries on multiple continents.” At least 50 U.S. government employees are suspected or confirmed to have been targeted with commercial spyware that hacks smartphones to spy on their owners.

Governments around the world, including the U.S., are known to collect large amounts of data for intelligence and law enforcement purposes, including communications from their own citizens. The White House official said that efforts to identify additional targeted personnel are ongoing, and that “we obviously cannot rule out even more instances.”

The executive order is an effort to protect citizens from the potential abuse of spyware. Some programs, such as “zero-click” exploits, can infect a phone without the user clicking on a malicious link. The order is intended to ensure that the U.S. government is not using such tools to surveil citizens without their knowledge or consent.