Brussels, 24 October 2022
This week, the Inquiry Committee on Pegasus and equivalent spyware will host a series of hearings on spyware’s impact on privacy, democracy, elections, and fundamental rights.
Where: European Parliament in Brussels, the Spaak building, room 3C50
When: Wednesday 26 October 9.00 – 11.00 and 15.00 – 18.30; Thursday 27 October 09.00 – 12.30
On Wednesday morning, MEPs will hear from industry representatives in the hearing “Big Tech and Spyware II” – a follow-up to an earlier hearing with a similar theme.
Guest speakers:
- Shane Huntley, Director of Google’s Threat Analysis Group
- Jo De Muynck, Head of Operational Cooperation Unit, EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)
- Saad Kadhi, Head of CERT-EU
- Rosanna Kurrer, Co-founder and Managing Director of Cyberwayfinder
In the afternoon from 15.00 CEST, they will discuss the impact of spyware on the right to online privacy and private communications with the following speakers:
- Ángel Vallejo, Head of Institutional Relations at THIBER
- Jesper Lund, Chairman of IT-Pol, member of EDRi
- Wojciech Klicki, Lawyer, Panoptykon Foundation
- Ioannis Kouvakas, Senior Legal Officer and Legal Coordinator, Privacy International
- Achim Klabunde, Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz e.V.
Thursday’s hearing focusses on spyware’s impact on fundamental rights, democracy and elections. MEPs will discuss the issues with:
Panel 1: The impact of Spyware on Fundamental Rights
- Ot van Daalen, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam
- David Kaye, UCI Law, former UN special rapporteur for freedom of expression
Panel 2: The impact of Spyware on Democracy and Electoral Processes
- Krzysztof Brejza, Member of the Sejm, targeted with Pegasus during election campaign
- Giovanni Sartor, Part-time Professor at Faculty of Law at the University of Bologna and at the EUI
- Iverna McGowan, Director, Europe Office of Center for Democracy and Technology
- Ronan Farrow, Investigative reporter and contributing writer to the New Yorker