Euroviews. Will the Brussels spyware scandal finally convince the EU to act?

If you thought that a major attack on EU democracy would stir lawmakers into finally taking action against spyware, the events of the last few weeks would prove you wrong.

In February, Brussels was rocked by reports of phone hacking and spyware attacks on members of the European Parliament’s defence and security committee. Such intrusions are a huge threat to EU democracy — interfering with decision-making and allowing obstructive disruptions to public debate.

Three weeks on, nothing seems to have changed with the EU’s approach to spyware, which has rapidly become a free-for-all abusive practice, thanks to an out-of-control industry.

It’s not like the harms of spyware aren’t already well documented. This technology allows for unchecked and unlimited access to a person’s communications, intimate photos, personal contacts and online behaviour data — everything without the knowledge of the victim. 

Spyware can turn a phone into a real-time spying device, even remotely activating the microphone and camera.

What it means for elected representatives is a significant danger of confidential data theft which can be used for blackmailing and manipulation. This can have disastrous consequences for the integrity and reliability of democratic processes such as elections and policy-making.

Warnings from concerned civil society groups about the many ills of spyware have been widespread and insistent, even before we found in 2021 that over 180 journalists in 20 countries — including Hungary, Spain and France — had their phones infected by the Pegasus spyware, often by their own countries’ governments.

As a response, the EU Parliament had set up the PEGA inquiry committee to look into the use of surveillance software. Although the committee