Statement by governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica,
Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK
and the US:
We, the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark,
France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom, and the United States, recognize the threat posed by the
misuse of commercial spyware and the need for strict domestic and
international controls on the proliferation and use of such
technology.
Commercial spyware has been misused across the world by
authoritarian regimes and in democracies. Too often, such
powerful and invasive tools have been used to target and
intimidate perceived opponents and facilitate efforts to curb
dissent; limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or
association; enable human rights violations and abuses or
suppression of civil liberties; or track or target individuals
without proper legal authorisation, safeguards, or oversight. The
misuse of these tools presents significant and growing risks to
our national security, including to the safety and security of
our government personnel, information, and information systems.
We therefore share a fundamental national security and foreign
policy interest in countering and preventing the proliferation of
commercial spyware that has been or risks being misused for such
purposes, in light of our core interests in protecting
individuals and organisations at risk around the world; defending
activists, dissidents, and journalists against threats to their
freedom and dignity; promoting respect for human rights; and
upholding democratic principles and the rule of law. We are
committed, where applicable and subject to national legal
frameworks, to implementing the Guiding Principles on Government
Use of Surveillance Technologies and the Code of Conduct
developed within the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative.
To advance these interests, we are partnering to counter the
misuse of commercial spyware and commit to:
-
working within our respective systems to establish robust
guardrails and procedures to ensure that any commercial
spyware use by our governments is consistent with respect for
universal human rights, the rule of law, and civil rights and
civil liberties
-
preventing the export of software, technology, and equipment
to end-users who are likely to use them for malicious cyber
activity, including unauthorised intrusion into information
systems, in accordance with our respective legal, regulatory,
and policy approaches and appropriate existing export control
regimes
-
robust information sharing on commercial spyware
proliferation and misuse, including to better identify and
track these tools
-
working closely with industry partners and civil society
groups to inform our approach, help raise awareness, and set
appropriate standards, while also continuing to support
innovation; and
-
engaging additional partner governments around the world, as
well as other appropriate stakeholders, to better align our
policies and export control authorities to mitigate
collectively the misuse of commercial spyware and drive
reform in this industry, including by encouraging industry
and investment firms to follow the United Nations Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights
Our efforts will allow us to work collectively for the first time
as we develop and implement policies to discourage the misuse of
commercial spyware and encourage the development and
implementation of responsible use principles that are consistent
with respect for universal human rights, the rule of law, and
civil rights and civil liberties.
