Dr. Ben Wagner speaks at European Parliament

On 21 June the European Parliament PEGA committee held an exchange of views with the representatives of the NSO Group. It was followed by a hearing on 'Stock-taking of EU spyware providers'. The aim of the hearing was to hear the experts to take stock of the current landscape of spyware providers in Europe.

TPM Assistant Professor and Director of the AI Futures Lab on Rights and Justice Dr. Ben Wagner attended as a speaker and discussed 'Pegasus spyware and the global surveillance industry.’ He elaborated on what the EU can do to reduce or even prevent harmful surveillance.

"It's been 10 years since I first presented in the European Parliament on the harms created by the surveillance industry. There have been a lot of progress on dual-use export controls since, but much still remains to be done." Ben quotes.

"What became evident during the hearing is the extent to which policy makers are dependent on research and analysis by academia, journalists and civil society. There is a huge governance deficit for the global surveillance industry. The EU and the U.S. have taken big steps in reigning in the worst actors but it is clear that much more needs to be done. As a result, European policy makers are looking for new tools to create, transparency, oversight and accountability"