Morocco was singled out as one of the countries that had bought the program from NSO Group and whose intelligence services had used the spyware against journalists. The list included the mobile numbers of human rights defenders, political opponents, business executives and even heads of state. Their numbers appeared on a list of more than 50,000 people selected for surveillance that was leaked to French NGO Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, who then shared the information with more than a dozen media organizations. "RSF denounces these repeated attacks on this journalist and reaffirms its support for his freedom to work."Īccording to the Pegasus investigation published in July 2021, the mobile phones of at least 180 journalists in 20 countries were flagged as targets for surveillance by clients of the spyware's manufacturer, Israeli firm NSO Group. "Accused of using Pegasus spyware, the Moroccan authorities are suing journalist Ignacio Cembrero, himself a victim of this spying, for defamation," it tweeted. The Moroccan lawsuit against Cembrero was promptly denounced by media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF). "It's a political trial to curtail journalists' freedom of expression," he tweeted. He has said it is "the fourth time" Morocco had sued him in Spain but the first time it had demanded he "retract" claims Rabat was responsible for spying with Pegasus software. "Morocco is taking me to court for accusing it of spying with Pegasus," he tweeted Monday. "The Kingdom of Morocco is not involved in spying on Ignacio Cembrero nor on any other citizen" and "does not have the Pegasus program," the lawyer representing Rabat said.Ĭembrero had also flagged the lawsuit on his Twitter account. Last year, an investigation by 17 media organizations accused Morocco of using the Israeli-made spyware, which infiltrates mobile phones in order to extract data or to activate a camera or microphone to spy on their owners.Īccording to a copy of the complaint seen by AFP, Morocco is demanding that Cembrero withdraw his allegations and pay Morocco's legal costs. ![]() The complaint against Ignacio Cembrero, an expert on Spain-Morocco relations who works for El Confidencial news website, was accepted by a court in Madrid, a spokesperson for the regional court authority said. Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service.Morocco has filed a lawsuit against a Spanish journalist who claimed his mobile phone was targeted by Pegasus spyware planted by Rabat, judicial sources said Monday. He did not, however, address the wealth of personal information that could be gleaned from mobile smartphone apps. President Barack Obama recently outlined new changes to limit the surveillance powers of the government, partly with a plan to keep the NSA from holding onto bulk phone records. But the previously classified documents revealed Monday by the Times, the Guardian and ProPublica, provide new information on the level of interest that the NSA and others might have in smartphones specifically and the apps that run on them. Spy agencies' pursuit of mobile networks have been detailed in other reports. Spy agencies have plotted how to gather this type of information in the background but it is not clear whether they have targeted these newer apps, the reports said. But the documents show that the NSA and its British counterpart routinely obtain information from certain apps, like those introduced earliest to cellphones, according to the reports.īut spy agencies may also be looking at data from newer apps, like the popular gaming service " Angry Birds." Although it is marketed as a game, "Angry Birds" gathers information about its users such as their location. The amount of data gathered from mobile apps, as well as specific information about how the process works, was not made clear. The efforts were part of an initiative known as "the mobile surge," according to a 2011 British document, referring to the troop surges in Iraq and Afghanistan.įacebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google could not be immediately reached for comment. Location and planning data stored within Google Maps was also cited as a potential surveillance target. ![]() Since 2007, spy agencies have acted in unison to access data like address books, buddy lists, phone logs and geographic data stored within those apps, the reports said. The targeted apps have included the mobile versions of Facebook, Yahoo's Flickr, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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