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Announcement of a Visa Restriction Policy to Promote Accountability for the Misuse of Commercial Spyware [1]

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Date: 2024-02 

The State Department is implementing a new policy today that will allow the imposition of visa restrictions on individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware.

This new policy is the most recent action in the United States’ comprehensive approach to countering the misuse of commercial spyware. Previous actions have included the issuance of an Executive Order prohibiting the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware that poses risks to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, Department of Commerce entity listings of commercial spyware companies that enabled the abuse of sophisticated surveillance tools, and diplomacy to boost international cooperation, including through the U.S.-led Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware.

The United States remains concerned with the growing misuse of commercial spyware around the world to facilitate repression, restrict the free flow of information, and enable human rights abuses. The misuse of commercial spyware threatens privacy and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. Such targeting has been linked to arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in the most egregious of cases. Additionally, the misuse of these tools presents a security and counterintelligence threat to U.S. personnel. The United States stands on the side of human rights and fundamental freedoms and will continue to promote accountability for individuals involved in commercial spyware misuse.

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[1] Url: https://www.state.gov/announcement-of-a-visa-restriction-policy-to-promote-accountability-for-the-misuse-of-commercial-spyware/

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