EPIC Urges Ban on Government Use of Spyware
The Electronic Privacy Information Center recommended in a report released Monday that the acquisition and use of spyware by state government agencies should be banned. Government use of spyware “comes at great cost to privacy, free speech, and free association,” and there’s no way to deploy it “without violating Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights,” the report said.
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“There is no device in the world better suited to surveillance than a modern cellphone,” the report added, noting that last year, 98% of Americans had a cellphone, and all but 7% were smartphones. The devices collect location data on where users have been, including on which floor of a building, EPIC said. “Unfettered access to your devices would reveal your deepest secrets, your relationships, your activities, your words, and your habits in high resolution.” The use of spyware “can make all of these granular data points accessible to malicious actors on an ongoing basis, creating a digital private investigator that follows you everywhere.”