The United States declares a visa ban for those who misuse commercial spyware
A new visa restriction policy has been announced in the US that will prevent people who have been involved in the misuse of commercial spyware from entering the country.
The new policy was announced by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who said the ban was in the interest of U.S. national security.
“The State Department is implementing a new policy today that will allow visa restrictions to be imposed on individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware,” Blinken said in a press release.
“The United States remains concerned about the increasing 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 the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
“These attacks have been linked to arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in the most egregious cases. Additionally, misuse of these tools presents a security and counterintelligence threat to U.S. personnel.”
The new visa restriction comes a year after an executive order issued by the Biden administration was signed prohibiting the government’s use of commercial spyware if it threatens foreign policy or national security interests.
“Executive departments and agencies (agencies) will not make operational use of commercial spyware when they determine, based on credible information, that such use poses significant counterintelligence or security risks to the United States Government or that commercial spyware poses risks.” important signs of improper use. by a foreign government or foreign person,” US President Joe Biden wrote in a White House statement issued last year.
Additionally, last year, the Biden administration, along with 36 other governments as part of the Freedom Online Coalition, published guiding principles for governments to prevent the misuse of surveillance technology.
