On July 6, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined over 30 partners in calling on the European Union to address the abuse of spyware in Europe.

The statement followed a forensic analysis by Citizen Lab that
revealed
how Stelios Kouloglou, former Member of the European Parliament and investigative journalist, was targeted and infected with Pegasus spyware in 2022 and 2023. The targeting also took place while Kouloglou was a member of the former European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA Committee).

The statement emphasizes the EU’s responsibility to defend independent oversight and protect fundamental rights, pointing to both “a structural failure to adequately and seriously respond to the spyware crisis in Europe” and “a rule of law emergency.”

CPJ has documented the repeated use of
spyware to
target

journalists
in Europe and
has continued to call
for the PEGA Committee
recommendations
to be implemented.

Read the full statement
here
.