Catalonia first after US to restrict Pegasus spyware use

Catalonia has become the first territory after the United States to approve restrictions on software used for espionage.

In the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Catalan government decided to implement a moratorium on programs like Pegasus, the one used to spy on 65 pro-independence figures between 2017 and 2020, according to CitizenLab, an investigative organization based at the University of Toronto that focuses on high-tech human-rights abuses – the case is known as Catalangate.

The measure affects the export, sale, transfer, and use of tools such as Pegasus until there is enough guarantee that they comply with human rights.

The government argues that this measure aims to contribute to the global debate revolving around the protection of human rights in the face of digital threats such as cyber espionage.

Geneva Declaration on Selective Surveillance

In September 2022, the then-Catalan foreign minister Victòria Alsina, presented the Geneva Declaration on Selective Surveillance and Human Rights, a proclamation calling for an international spyware industry regulation, alongside digital civil rights group Access Now.

In the agreement announced this Tuesday, the government is officially implementing the Geneva Declaration.

Catalonia is following in the footsteps of the United States in restricting the use of Pegasus.

Last week, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to prohibit "operational use by the United States Government of commercial spyware that poses risks to national security or has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses around the world."

US mentions Catalangate in 2022 report on human rights practices

The US mentioned Catalangate in its 2022 human rights report, explaining the findings Citizen Lab revealed on April 18, last year. 

"Targeted individuals reportedly included the sitting and several former presidents of the Catalan regional government, European Parliament members, Catalan jurists, activists, and politicians," the paper reads.

The report also explains that Spain's intelligence director at the time, Paz Esteban, admitted to having hacked into the cellphones of "18 Catalan separatist leaders, but she stated the CNI had the required judicial authorizations to do so."