Biden Restricts Use Of Spyware After 50 Government Employees Targeted In Nearly Dozen Countries

President Joe Biden on Monday issued an executive order limiting the use of surveillance tools by the American government. 

What Happened: The president restricted the use of commercial spyware tools that give governments the power to hack the mobile phones of private citizens, extracting data and tracking their movements.

The new rules were introduced after at least 50 U.S. government staffers stationed in at least 10 countries had been hacked with spyware, a senior administration official, a larger number than was previously known.

See Also: Pentagon Worried China Using Cargo Cranes For Spying: WSJ

Both democratic and autocratic countries have globally misused spyware to monitor journalists, human rights activists, and individuals with dissenting political views.

The new order bars federal departments from utilizing commercial spyware that foreign governments could misuse could potentially target its citizens outside the country or may pose security threats if installed on U.S. government networks.

However, the order only applies to spyware created and marketed by commercial entities and not to tools developed by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The executive order also permits its usage in certain circumstances and doesn't impose a blanket ban.

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