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EU privacy watchdog calls for new controls on surveillance tech export

Calls for additional attention to impact on human rights

EU controls on the export of technologies that can be used for communications surveillance and interception should be enhanced, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has said.

EDPS Giovanni Buttarelli highlighted the risks of surveillance and interception technologies being misused (16-page / 1.12MB PDF) in a recently published opinion. He said there is a "tension between the positive use of ICT tools and the negative impact that the misuse of technology can have on human rights, and especially on the protection of personal data and privacy".

Buttarelli said the tension had to be addressed in national and EU policies as well as "by all actors involved in the ICT sector (developers, service providers, sellers, brokers, distributors, and users)". He specifically called for existing controls on the export of surveillance and interception technologies to third countries to be stiffened.

"Under [the EU's 'dual-use'] Regulation, the export of harmful technologies to third countries can be controlled," Buttarelli said in his opinion. "However, the EU dual use regime fails to fully address the issue of export of all ICT technologies to a country where all appropriate safeguards regarding the use of this technology are not provided. Therefore, the current revision of the 'dual-use' regulation should be seen as an opportunity to limit the export of potentially harmful devices, services and information to third countries presenting a risk for human rights."

"In the context of dual-use, standards should be developed in order to assess how the ICT or the information at stake might be used and the potential impact on fundamental rights in the EU. An analysis of the situation in the third country regarding the actual protection of human rights or the respect of people's freedoms should be performed in order to evaluate whether an export authorisation should be delivered and under which conditions. In addition, an assessment of the context within which technologies are used is essential to evaluate their impact on human rights," he said.

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