Here's a thread by @jsrailton.bsky.social on yesterday's @europarl.europa.eu plenary debate in Strasbourg on the hacking of Stelios Kouloglou with Pegasus, where MEPs called out [again] the Commission’s inaction on spyware—especially following PEGA's findings & recommendations: x.com/jsrailton/st...

@jeroenlenaers.bsky.social also never responded to my media enquiry about why he allegedly met with Intellexa (& Israeli law firm Meitar) on 30 March 2023, during the final phase of negotiating and drafting PEGA's final report and recommendations. [Source: www.integritywatch.eu ]

Spyware victim @nasoskoukakis.bsky.social asks the former Chair of the PEGA Committee to explain why he voted against holding a plenary debate after a member of his own committee was targeted with Pegasus while it was investigating #spyware abuses. x.com/nasoskook/st...

Dnews on 🇬🇷Greece and NSO Group: www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...

Following @citizenlab.ca's latest findings, human rights lawyer Eitay Mack has written to the head of 🇮🇱Israel's Defense Export Controls Agency (DECA), calling for an investigation into NSO Group and requesting enforcement action over the company's activities.

⚠️Following @citizenlab.ca's revelations that Stelios Kouloglou was surveilled with NSO Group's #Pegasus, a coalition of leading civil society organisations has published a joint statement calling on the 🇪🇺EU institutions to regulate #spyware technologies & strengthen protections against their abuse.

During yesterday's 🇪🇺LIBE session, @hennavirkkunen.wsocial.eu dodged @saskiabricmont.bsky.social’s questions on the Commission’s inaction over #spyware abuses in Europe, including the EU financing of spyware firms & fell back on the usual talking points about existing legislation & national security.

A new policy paper, ‘A Legal and Political Assessment of the Pall Mall Process,’ authored by @niaolainf.bsky.social was presented today in 🇪🇺Brussels. [1]

Civil society organisations are urging EU institutions & governments not to participate in or endorse the ISS World Europe Conference, scheduled to be held at the Clarion Hotel in Prague on 2–4 June, citing concerns over its primary sponsorship by #spyware company NSO Group. edri.org/our-work/sta...

[7] You can read the full @hrw.org report, authored by @notzachcampbell.bsky.social, here: www.hrw.org/node/393559

[6] 💡The report makes a number of recommendations to EU institutions and member countries - including on due diligence and transparency:

[5] 🚫 FOI requests fill only a fraction of the gaps in EU reporting — partly because of incomplete member state responses, but also because the Commission and states invoke overly broad trade secrecy, national security, and international relations exemptions not supported by the Recast itself.

[4] ⚠️ The report finds that guidelines published by the EU Commission in January 2024 to interpret the application of the regulation have in practice undercut the rights-protective features of the Recast and **severely limited** the value of its reporting and transparency provisions.

[3] The report highlights two illustrative examples that identify such transfers: exports of #surveillance technology from Bulgaria to 🇦🇿Azerbaijan, and from Poland to 🇷🇼Rwanda. Below export data visualisations for 🇧🇬Bulgaria, 🇨🇿Czechia, 🇩🇰Denmark, 🇵🇱Poland & 🇫🇮Finland. 👇

[2] The EU Dual-Use Recast regulation—which is supposed to limit these exports—requires the EU Commission to publish comprehensive data linking exporting & destination countries with the types of tech being licensed, but it doesn't. ➡️ So, HRW sent FOI requests to every member state +the Commission.

NEW: A @hrw.org report published today finds that despite a regulatory framework designed to prevent abuses, 🇪🇺EU is currently doing **too little** to prevent sales & transfers of #surveillance technology by its members to governments with a track record of serious human rights violations. 🧵

💡Asked by @birgitsippel.bsky.social why the European Commission does not fulfil its role as Guardian of the Treaties when faced with recent #spyware abuses & government inaction, its representative, Martin Schauer, admitted: “I understand that this is a much more political question.”

⚠️ EIF’s Gauthier Monjanel **did not** exclude future financing of EU-based spyware companies. ➡️“The EIB Group has taken measures to prevent investments related to this topic outside the EU27,” he said, implying such funding could still go to companies based within the EU.

Following my @ftm.eu investigation into 🇪🇺EU financing for #spyware and @apache.be ’s revelations that the European Investment Fund (EIF) had funded Paragon Solutions, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee yesterday held a debate on EU funding for commercial spyware vendors.

Greek news site In.gr has obtained two Intellexa promotional brochures addressed to “law enforcement authorities” and security and intelligence agencies – one tied to the company’s participation in the ISS World conference & the other presenting its Helios #spyware system. www.in.gr/2026/04/24/e...

🇫🇷Two of NSO’s co-founders, Shalev Hulio & Omri Lavie, were questioned by an investigating judge & placed under assisted witness status at the beginning of 2026 - as part of an investigation opened in ‘22 following the Pegasus Project revelations, reports @mediapart.fr www.lemonde.fr/pixels/artic...

⚠️Intellexa was allegedly set to be funded in Greece through 🇬🇷state and 🇪🇺European funds before the wiretapping scandal broke, newspaper @tovimagr.bsky.social reports.

The acting head of 🇺🇸Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told lawmakers that it has bought and used #spyware made by Paragon Solutions in drug trafficking cases, according to a letter seen by @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/i...

Catalan activists @centreiridia.bsky.social say 🇪🇸Spain’s justice system is obstructing the investigation into the use of #Pegasus and has repeatedly ignored cooperation requests from 🇱🇺Luxembourg’s authorities. iridia.cat/en/iridia-de...

New Tal Dilian statement on #PredatorGate points even more clearly to the 🇬🇷authorities: “I believe it is a crime for private individuals to interfere communications. But it is even more serious crime to organize a conspiracy crime to send innocent people to jail to cover up political authorities.“

Greek journos @ikostaki.bsky.social & Maria Psarra asked 🇪🇺EU Commission spox Markus Lammert about the 🇬🇷wiretapping scandal & the statements made by Tal Dilian that he “provides tech only to govts & law enforcement agencies.” More of the same from the Commission—failing to address the core of the Q.

Tal Dilian, asked by 🇬🇷TV network Mega who #Intellexa’s clients were in Greece & whether he had worked with state services, Greek authorities, private actors or any Greek official: ➡️“We provide technology only to governments & law enforcement agencies.” [Full statement below translated from Greek]

⚠️ Since 2018, NSO Group has undertaken an aggressive hiring spree, reportedly engaging more than 15 (!) lobbying, law and PR firms, in addition to other consultants, according to #lobbying disclosure (LD-1) and Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings, as well as multiple news sources.

The first official event of 🇪🇺 @europarl.europa.eu's Interest Group against #spyware took place yesterday. ➡️The group aims to become a stable point of reference between Parliament & civil society, with regular meetings & ongoing monitoring and political scrutiny of EU institutions and Member States.

A Greek court has handed down what is being called the first-ever criminal conviction of commercial #spyware company executives – and the fallout is heading towards 🇨🇾Cyprus, writes Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros. in-cyprus.philenews.com/local/tal-di...