Spain Needs More Transparency Over Pegasus: EU Lawmakers

The European Parliament is Calling for More Transparency in Spain’s Pegasus Spyware Hacking Scandal

On Tuesday, the European Parliament’s cross-party committee concluded a two-day fact-finding mission to Madrid to investigate the illegal use of spyware in EU states, specifically the Pegasus software which can turn smartphones into pocket spying devices. The committee, led by Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers, urged the Spanish authorities to cooperate with the courts to allow for maximum transparency in these cases. They also stressed that victims of spyware deserve more information and transparency.

The committee visited Israel, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, and Spain as part of their investigation, and noted that the legal framework in Spain was in line with fundamental rights protection. Last year, Catalonia’s regional leadership accused Spain’s intelligence services of using Pegasus software to hack the mobile phones of dozens of separatist politicians. Canada’s cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab published a report in April showing that the phones of at least 65 Catalan separatists had been tapped following the failed 2017 independence bid.

Spy chief Paz Esteban told a parliamentary committee 18 Catalan separatists had been spied with Pegasus software, but always with court approval. At the same time, the government admitted that the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and two other top ministers had also been hacked by the same spyware, blaming it on “an external attack” which the press blamed on Morocco. Although the committee lacks “proof” that Morocco was behind it, Lenaers said it was “a plausible candidate”.

The European Parliament published an interim report in November which found that Pegasus spyware had been used “illegitimately” to conduct surveillance in at least four EU countries — Greece, Spain, Poland and Hungary — and called for a moratorium on the sale, acquisition, transfer and use of spyware in the EU.

In conclusion, the European Parliament is calling on Spain to provide more transparency into its Pegasus spyware hacking scandal. The committee has highlighted that victims of such spying deserve more information and transparency. The government has admitted that the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and two other top ministers had also been hacked by the same spyware, which they blamed on “an external attack”. The European Parliament has also called for a moratorium on the sale, acquisition, transfer and use of spyware in the EU.

Key Points:

• The European Parliament is calling on Spain to provide more transparency into its Pegasus spyware hacking scandal.
• The committee has highlighted that victims of such spying deserve more information and transparency.
• The government has admitted that the phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and two other top ministers had also been hacked by the same spyware.
• The European Parliament has called for a moratorium on the sale, acquisition, transfer and use of spyware in the EU.