MEPs today debated with the European Council and Commission the surveillance of politicians, prosecutors, lawyers and journalists by EU member states using cyber surveillance software.

The debate comes following media revelations of the Pegasus spyware scandal and subsequent revelations about such tech that is designed to infringe privacy and fundamental rights.

For The Left, an inquiry into state spyware abuse is necessary.

MEP Cornelia Ernst (Die Linke, Germany) set out the group’s demand for a parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, for member states using such software to face consequences, and for the prohibition of mass surveillance technologies.

Nichts, schon gar nicht in einer Demokratie, rechtfertigt eine totale Überwachung wie mit der Spionagesoftware #Pegasus. Wir fordern:
📍parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschuss
📍Konsequenzen für Mitgliedsstaaten
📍Verbot von #Massenüberwachung Technologien@Left_EU @dieLinke pic.twitter.com/PT5Rhd2dZz

— Cornelia Ernst (@ErnstCornelia) February 15, 2022

“An inquiry into state spyware abuse is urgent and necessary, but cannot be selective. Pegasus and NSO Group are merely tips of an iceberg: a competitive industry predicated on the infringement of fundamental rights. Trade and use of these technologies is endemic and normalised” adds Clare Daly MEP (Independents for Change, Ireland).