Commercial spyware

(a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) there is a national security need for the legitimate and responsible procurement and application of cyber intrusion capabilities, including efforts related to counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and countertrafficking; (2) the growing commercial market for sophisticated cyber intrusion capabilities has enhanced state and non-state actors’ abilities to target and track for nefarious purposes individuals, such as journalists, human rights defenders, members of civil society groups, members of ethnic or religious minority groups, and others for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, or the family members of these targeted individuals; (3) the proliferation of commercial spyware presents significant and growing risks to United States national security, including to the safety and security of United States Government personnel; and (4) ease of access into and lack of transparency in the commercial spyware market raises the probability of spreading potentially destructive or disruptive cyber capabilities to a wider range of malicious actors. (b) Statement of policy It is the policy of the United States— (1) to oppose the misuse of commercial spyware to target individuals, including journalists, defenders of internationally recognized human rights, and members of civil society groups, members of ethnic or religious minority groups, and others for exercising their internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, or the family members of these targeted individuals; (2) to coordinate with allies and partners to prevent the export of commercial spyware tools to end-users likely to use them for malicious activities; (3) to maintain robust information-sharing with trusted allies and partners on commercial spyware proliferation and misuse, including to better identify and track these tools; and (4) to work with private industry to identify and counter the abuse and misuse of commercial spyware technology; and (5) to work with allies and partners to establish robust guardrails to ensure that the use of commercial spyware tools are consistent with respect for internationally recognized human rights, and the rule of law.