EFJ calls for regulation of trade in surveillance weapons

Following the revelations about the reach and harms of NSO’s Pegasus spyware, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to take action to constrain the global spyware industry. Over the weekend, a global consortium of news organisations joined Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based journalism nonprofit, to reveal how Pegasus turned the phones of journalists, opposition politicians and human rights activists into real-time spying devices. At least 180 journalists across the world have been spied on using Pegasus software, including journalists based…

Belarusian regime paralyses Belarusian Association of Journalists

The Belarusian regime is intensifying its crackdown on journalists and their representative organisation, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). After searching and sealing BAJ’s offices on 14 July, the authorities blocked the organisation’s bank accounts on Tuesday 20 July. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) denounce the regime’s repeated actions to paralyse their affiliate in Belarus. By the decision of the Investigative Committee, BAJ’s bank accounts have been completely blocked: it is no longer possible to make any payment or register any payment, which paralyses the activity of the independent representative organisation of journalists in Belarus. On 14…

Spyware Pegasus helped target investigative journalists in Hungary

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is highly alarmed by the revelations by a consortium led by French NGO Forbidden Stories about the surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and others through the Pegasus spyware program developed by Israeli company NSO Group. The leak, which revealed the involvement of the Hungarian government among others, raises significant implications for journalists’ security and the protection of their sources as well as raising concerns through the chilling effect such applications have on journalists beyond those immediately affected and ultimately, on everyone’s right to information. We call on the Hungarian government and other…