Pegasus scandal: Amnesty International calls for moratorium on surveillance technology

Terming the recent spying allegations on governments a "global human rights crisis", UK-based human rights NGO Amnesty International, has asked for a moratorium on the sale and use of surveillance technology.

In recent months, allegations of governments using a phone malware 'Pegasus' supplied by an Israeli firm 'NSO' have surfaced.

As a result of the leak of a list of 50,000 potential surveillance targets to human rights groups, a storm has erupted over the NSO Group's Pegasus software.

Reportedly, the software is capable of turning on a phone's camera or microphone and harvesting its data.

In a statement onFriday, the NGO warned of "the devastating impact of the poorly regulated spyware industry on human rights worldwide."

In addition to French media nonprofit Forbidden Stories,Amnesty Internationalworked with the Washington Post, the Guardian, and Le Monde to compile the list.

As many as 180 journalists, 600 politicians, 85 human rights activists, and 65 business leaders are listed as alleged targets.

On the list of these alleged targets was French President Emmanuel Macron, who had to change his phone and his contact number.

Amnesty's Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, said in the statement that the exposure of the risk to the individuals unlawfully targeted is in addition to the very destabilizing implications for the future of human rights globally and for the digital environment in general.

Talking about the surveillance industry she added that the Israeli group NSO "is just one company," and that"this is a dangerous industry that has operated on the edges of legality for too long, and this cannot be allowed to continue,".

Calling for Greater regulation over the cyber-surveillance industry,accountability for abuses and violations of human rights,Amnesty called for an immediate moratorium on any export, sale, transfer and use of surveillance technology "until there is a human rights-compliant regulatory framework in place."

Callamard says that the fact that world leaders and other political leaders may be at risk from spyware technology will hopefully serve as a wake-up call for politicians and policymakers alike to regulate this industry.

NSO, which exports to 45 countries with Israeli government approval, claims its software is only used for counterterrorism andfightingother crimes.