Google is warning Congress that the sale of spyware tools is fueling the growth of a commercial surveillance industry that enables governments to track people around the world in unprecedented ways.
Google’s Shane Huntley recently told the House Intelligence Committee that the commercial surveillance industry is thriving and should concern Americans.
“These vendors are enabling the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools, arming nation-state actors that would not otherwise be able to develop these capabilities in-house,” Mr. Huntley said in written testimony. “While the use of surveillance technologies may be legal under national or international laws, they are found to be used by some state actors for purposes antithetical to democratic values: targeting dissidents, journalists, human rights workers, and opposition party politicians.