London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Top EU official calls for ‘judicial guarantees’ to stop abuse of spyware

Top EU official calls for ‘judicial guarantees’ to stop abuse of spyware

‘We need an EU approach to end the malicious use’ of hacking tools, Commission vice president says.
The European Union needs to draw a line between what is acceptable use of hacking tools by law enforcement and what is malicious use of spyware for political and corporate espionage and against journalists and civil society, the bloc's Vice President Margaritis Schinas said Thursday.

“We need some order, we need a framework, we need judicial guarantees and we need an EU approach to end the malicious use of these products,” Schinas said.

The use of hacking tools has sparked political crises in Poland, Hungary, Spain and Greece, following revelations that political opposition figures, members of civil society and journalists were targeted with hacking software.

Schinas, a Greek national, was nominated to the European Commission by the Greek government and is a member of the ruling New Democracy party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – a party that’s under heavy fire from political opposition and human rights groups over alleged abuse of spyware by government authorities.

Greece’s bugging furor escalated dramatically on August 5, when two top officials from the center-right administration of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lost their jobs after it transpired that the phone of Nikos Androulakis, head of the center-left Pasok party, had been wiretapped. Mitsotakis’s government admitted it acted wrongly but said the wiretap was conducted legally by the spy service — though it is still refusing to say why, citing national security.

Muddying the case, a separate attempt was made to hack Androulakis’ phone around the same time with illegal software called Predator, but Athens is strenuously denying that its secret agents had any connection with that.

The European Commission itself has also been a victim of spyware. Reuters reported in April that Commissioner Didier Reynders was among several top EU officials who had been targeted by spyware called Pegasus, and POLITICO confirmed that one of those officials was a staffer for European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová.

The European Parliament launched a special inquiry committee to investigate its use but the Commission has struggled to take action against national governments, which have claimed the use of hacking tools falls under national sovereignty. Still, the EU in past years has legislated and litigated how surveillance tools like data retention are used by national security authorities and how it strikes a balance between privacy and security on issues like encryption.

"We do not have such a system for spyware. And this annoys me," Schinas said.

The vice president said the need to strike “the right balance” between the necessity for intelligence services to “chase the bad guys” while respecting EU rule of law in terms of judicial control and data protection.

The Commission chief was speaking to reporters in Brussels for the launch of a new EU cybersecurity bill, the Cyber Resilience Act, which aims to better protect internet-connected devices from hackers.

The new Internet of Things cybersecurity law could better protect smartphones and software products from spyware intrusions. But the Commission's proposal steers clear from regulating the use of hacking tools for malicious purposes.

The EU executive will present another bill on Friday to better protect journalists and media across the bloc, called the Media Freedom Act. A draft of the proposal obtainted by POLITICO would stop governments from hacking phones and devices used by journalists and their families to track them. However, it would still leave national capitals with the possibility of using such tools if they can cite national security or a serious crime investigation, POLITICO reported earlier.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
×