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Article

29 Jul 2021

Author:
Tim O'Connor, Amnesty International Australia

Australia: Amnesty International writes to Home Affairs Minister stating NSO revelations should be a catalyst for change regarding the surveillance industry

"The Pegasus Project: Massive data leak reveals Israeli NSO Group’s spyware used to target activists, journalists, and political leaders globally", 29 July 2021.

Dear Minister Andrews

... These revelations must act as a catalyst for change. The surveillance industry must no longer be afforded a laissez-faire approach from governments with a vested interest in using this technology to commit human rights violations.

For these reasons, I ask that you

  1. Conduct an audit of current security contracts to ensure Australia is meeting its own human rights obligations, and ensure that these tools are not used to unlawfully target human rights defenders and civil society
  2. Disclose information about all previous, current, or future contracts with private surveillance companies by making proactive disclosures
  3. Ensure surveillance is only against specified persons, authorized by a competent, independent and impartial judicial body with limitations on time, manner, place and scope of surveillance
  4. Support the call for the global sale and transfer of surveillance technology to be temporarily paused.

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