October 18, 2024
Cited article by Human Rights Watch
HRRC expresses deep concern about the potential for widespread human rights
abuses arising from the widespread use of spyware programs in online surveillance.
News Brief
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has contracted services from the Israeli spyware company, Paragon. The contract summary does not name a specific product, but the company is best known for its spyware tools that can bypass the encryption of many smartphones and give access to the data inside.
The U.S. government has failed to disclose the nature of the services Israeli company will
be providing to ICE. Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about ICE abusing people
trying to cross the US-Mexico border, surveilling border communities, and surveilling,
harassing, detaining, and blocking journalists and activists working on or near the
border.