When young people took to the streets in Iran in 2009, asking “where is my vote?”, student leaders, bloggers and activists were traced to their homes, arrested and tortured.



The world was outraged at the cruelty the Islamic Republic used to stifle critics. These young people should be able to enjoy their universal human rights. And the European Union (EU) should be an unequivocal ally to them.

But we quickly learned that the technology used for surveillance and repression was made in the EU, and actively assisted in the crackdowns. This was unacceptable, and in the European Parliament we began to push for updated laws that take into consideration how surveillance systems get smaller, faster and cheaper every day.

Until now, any country with the funds could buy sophisticated cyber surveillance systems. We demand much stricter controls on this trade, and that the human rights record of a country be checked before a licence is granted.

EU surveillance tech exported to countries with terrible human rights records Year after year, more evidence emerged that EU member states approved exports of various surveillance technologies to countries with terrible human rights records. Three years ago, the client list of an Italian hacking company, that was itself hacked, was made public. Contracts indicated cyber surveillance products were specifically marketed and sold to countries such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Uzbekistan. None of these rank highly in their respect for the rights of their people.



The long-overdue update to the export controls of dual-use items was finally approved by the European Parliament in January. When implemented, the new measures will create extra checks before European companies that export cyber surveillance technologies to authoritarian regimes get a green light. Some critics have argued that the new measures are impossible to implement. But this is not the first time EU legislation has prohibited trade in items that are used to violate human rights. The EU recently updated its legislation to restrict the trade in tools used for torture and applying the death penalty. Similarly, the EU banned the import of minerals from conflict zones, to prevent a trade that finances and prolongs human rights abuses. Many companies already have hundreds of compliance officers employed to ensure they export within the framework of laws.