Canada to back Biden administration’s limits on ‘mercenary’ spyware tools

Biden issued an executive order on Monday aimed at restricting the U.S. government’s use of spyware that poses risks to national security.

The Canadian government is prepared to support a U.S. effort to restrict the use of powerful commercial spyware that is used to surveil activists, journalists and dissidents, according to a White House document.

While the two governments maintain their own sophisticated spying programs, the Biden administration has recently signalled growing concern with private market surveillance tools that can steal data like text messages and other sensitive information from mobile phones.

That concern was framed in Biden’s executive order on Monday, which restricted the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware that poses “significant counterintelligence or security risks” to the U.S. or where the software could be improperly used by foreign governments.

Now, Canada and eight other nations — including Five Eyes intelligence allies Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. — appear ready to support the Biden administration’s push.

A White House document issued Wednesday stated Canada will be among those allies to issue a joint statement aimed at countering “the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware.” The joint statement is expected to be released at Biden’s Summit on Democracy in Washington, D.C.

The move sends a “strong signal” to spyware vendors and their investors that “business as usual is over, and that the very lucrative U.S. federal government market is out of bounds” for firms engaging in human rights abuses, according to Ron Deibert, director of Citizen Lab.

“The joint statement shows that the U.S. is actively encouraging other governments to follow suit,” Deibert, whose organization has documented the growth of “mercenary” spyware for years, told Global News Wednesday evening.

“Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. But the bottom line is a dial was turned a few notches and a giant machine has been moved in ways that will make life difficult for firms, their investors and government clients that profit from and cause harm worldwide.”