The Commission called on the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on Wednesday 15 September to agree “quickly” on the ePrivacy Regulation and promised to continue strengthening cybersecurity tools in response to the scandal created by the Israeli spyware Pegasus (see EUROPE 12765/8).
MEPs discussed this with Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar. They were particularly concerned about the use of this spyware by certain governments of third countries—such as the Moroccan government, which allegedly listened in on the French head of state—but also by European governments, in particular the Hungarian government, which allegedly used it to listen in on journalists, judges, and opponents.
They wondered how the EU could act against these practices. Saskia Bricmont MEP (Greens/EFA, Belgium) said a moratorium on international purchases of surveillance technology was needed.
For the Slovenian minister, “any indication of interference with confidentiality must be thoroughly investigated” and those responsible for such interference must be brought “to justice”.
The Commissioner, who considers such eavesdropping to be a “crime” under the Information Systems Directive, recalled that the EU has stepped up action to strengthen cyber security and that the forthcoming regulation on privacy and confidentiality of communications will further strengthen the protection of individuals by increasing fines for offenders.
He also referred to the General Data Protection Regulation, which makes it compulsory to seek consent to store data. Listening to the telephone conversations of certain individuals must also be regulated by law and be subject to very clear justifications, as the Court of Justice of the EU regularly states.
The Commission is now awaiting the results of the investigation opened in Hungary on 5 August and also plans to put forward new recommendations on 16 September to protect journalists. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)