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EU urged to sanction Israeli cyberfirm NSO Group

Dozens of human rights groups called on the European Union to place the controversial cybersurveillance firm on its global sanctions list.

Alex Pantling/Getty Images
A fan looks at his mobile phone prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on Nov. 7, 2021, in London, England. — Alex Pantling/Getty Images

A group of 86 human rights groups and independent experts said Friday that the European Union should add the Israeli cyber-surveillance firm NSO Group, whose spyware was allegedly used by foreign governments to target dissidents around the world, to its global sanctions list.

In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International referenced a report last month that NSO’s Pegasus surveillance software was used to hack the cellphones of six Palestinian rights activists, at least half of whom were linked to groups controversially deemed terrorist organizations by the Israeli government. 

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