Dictators are in luck, every day they have more tools to control their citizens

According to a report carried out by European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), European companies have supplied cyber-surveillance tools to dictators in various countries for more than a decade, to control their citizens.

The report, titled "The sale of repression", identifies 11 European companies that have sold their products to repressive governments, including:

• Hacking Team, an Italian company that sold its surveillance tools to governments in 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Qatar and Uzbekistan.
• FinFisher, a German company that sold its tools to governments in 30 countries, including China, Iran, Syria and Turkmenistan
• Gamma Group, a British company that sold its tools to governments in 20 countries, including Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Eritrea.
• Intellasa Alliance, a company that has sold its products to more than 25 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia

And let's not play innocent, we have to be aware that all this is done with the consent of the respective governments, which in general are democratic governments that claim to defend freedom and human rights.

The cyber-surveillance tools that these companies have sold to repressive governments allow authorities to track citizens' communications, access their devices, and monitor their online activities. These tools have been used to repress dissent, silence government critics, and persecute political opponents.

The EIC report highlights that European companies have been aware of the use that repressive governments were making of their products, but that they have done little to prevent it. In some cases, companies have even promoted their products as tools to combat terrorism and organized crime, when in reality they were being used to suppress human rights.

The report has been received with concern by human rights organizations, which have demanded that European companies end the sale of cyber-surveillance tools to repressive governments.

Of course, cyber-surveillance tools that have been sold to repressive governments have had a negative impact on human rights in the countries in which they have been sold. These tools have been used to:

• Suppress dissent: Repressive governments have used cyber-surveillance tools to track and silence government critics. In some cases, authorities have used these tools to arrest, torture, and kill political opponents.
• Silencing the media: Repressive governments have used cyber-surveillance tools to control the media and silence critical voices. In some cases, authorities have used these tools to block independent news websites and arrest journalists.
• Persecute human rights defenders: Repressive governments have used cyber-surveillance tools to persecute human rights defenders. In some cases, authorities have used these tools to intimidate, arrest and kill human rights defenders.

European companies that have sold cyber-surveillance tools to repressive governments have a moral and legal responsibility for the abuses that these tools have committed, and their leaders should be brought before a judge, something that has never happened, since governments are aware of what they do and therefore are jointly responsible for their lies.

It's a shame, but this is the Society we live in. Business and Profits come above all else. Also above Democracy and Human Rights.

Will any political leader resign because of this new shame? I really doubt it.