On Monday, March 28, the White House announced that at least 50 U.S. government officials may have been targeted by spyware intended to hack mobile phones and monitor activities, data and the location of its users. NBC reported that a senior administration official disclosed that the victims range “at least ten countries on multiple continents.”
“We are very concerned about the threat of digital authoritarianism and practices around the world, but we are also very cognizant that the misuse of technology can occur in any state,” the senior official said to reporters. “So, we are taking steps to make sure that the way that we would like technology to be used is aligned with human rights and democratic principles all around the world.”
This news emerged as President Joe Biden signed an executive order prohibiting the use of commercial spyware—those not constructed by U.S. intelligence agencies—in government departments. However, the order specifies that it bans only the commercial spyware that poses a threat to national security or is utilized by foreign adversaries to commit human rights abuses.
“Commercial spyware – sophisticated and invasive cyber surveillance tools sold by vendors to access electronic devices remotely, extract their content, and manipulate their components, all without the knowledge or consent of the devices’ users – has proliferated in recent years with few controls and high risk of abuse,” the White House said.
Through this order, the Biden administration also seeks to protect the information of American government personnel, private citizens and their families.
Similarly, there have been bipartisan calls to place bans on foreign technologies in recent years, most notably on TikTok—the popular short video social media platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance. U.S. government officials believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has manipulated TikTok to spy on and gather data from unsuspecting Americans. The app has over 150 million U.S. users, as reported by the social media company, and this number demonstrates why political leaders are concerned.
Congress held lengthy hearings to determine if TikTok monitors citizens, specifically focusing on ByteDance’s relationship with the CCP.
Republican Representative from Florida Neal Dunne asked if the company has “spied on Americans,” to which TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew replied, “spying is not the right way to describe it.”
Although it is not confirmed that the CCP utilizes TikTok to spy on its users, The Wall Street Journal reported that China said it would greatly oppose a forced sale of TikTok. This admission supports the views of many congresspeople that the CCP is hiding its true intentions.
So far, TikTok has been barred for some federal employees. The hearings recently concluded, but the platform’s fate is still unknown.
The growing prevalence of spyware highlights that geopolitical tensions are increasingly centered around technology; in turn, the U.S. has to actively adapt its policies to reflect its best interests. These revelations also bring into question how far the U.S. government will go to protect national security and when these regulations cross into censorship.
