Europe is selling spyware to authoritarian regimes, watchdog warn

A Human Rights Watch report found Bulgaria and Poland among E.U. states that exported surveillance tools to governments with abuse records

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Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that the European Union has failed to stop member states from exporting surveillance technology to governments with documented histories of using such tools against activists, journalists, and other critics.

The 54-page report, titled "Looking the Other Way: EU Failure to Prevent Surveillance Exports to Rights Violators," assessed how the E.U.'s Dual-Use Regulation — landmark legislation adopted in 2021 to restrict exports of technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes — is functioning in practice. Human Rights Watch found the regulation is not being implemented effectively.

Responses came from roughly half of the bloc's 27 member states after Human........

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