14 DAY TRIAL // According to the latest “Enemies of the Internet” report published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam are the countries most actively involved in the surveillance of news providers.
In addition to these countries, RSF has also published a list of “Corporate Enemies of the Internet.” The list comprises Gamma, Hacking Team, Blue Coat, Amesys and Trovicor.
These companies are known for commercializing so-called “legal surveillance software” that’s used by governments to violate freedom of information and human rights.
“If these companies decided to sell to authoritarian regimes, they must have known that their products could be used to spy on journalists, dissidents and netizens,” RSF noted.
“If their digital surveillance products were sold to an authoritarian regime by an intermediary without their knowledge, their failure to keep track of the exports of their own software means they did not care if their technology was misused and did not care about the vulnerability of those who defend human rights.”
The organization notes that surveillance technology can be used for legitimate purposes, to combat cybercrime, for instance. However, if it falls into the hands of totalitarian governments, it can be successfully used for censorship, and mass or targeted surveillance.
RSF highlights the fact that lawmakers must take action and introduce controls on the export of surveillance software and hardware to states that continually violate fundamental rights.
“Governments did already negotiate about the inclusion of surveillance technology into the most comprehensive international treaty on export controls, the Wassenaar Arrangement. Unfortunately, they did not yet put these negotiations into force, to help journalists, bloggers and activists around the world,” the organization said.
The RSF study coincides with the Citizen Lab report, which provides new evidence that governments are using the FinFisher software to spy on activists.