Polish and American delegations met to discuss cooperation against the illegal use of commercial espionage tools. The task of the group is to combat this problem, which undermines democratic principles and human rights.
On July 24, 2024, the first Polish-American interdepartmental consultations were held on the coalition of states working to prevent the illegal use of commercial espionage tools. Poland joined the group in March this year.
On the Polish side there were representatives of the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Digitization, the Ministry of Development and Technology and the Ministry of Justice. On the US side, the delegation included representatives of the National Security Council, the State Department, the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce.
The US presented the history of the initiative and the actions taken so far. Poland expressed interest in, among others, specific solutions to counter the illegal use of commercial espionage tools. These include regulatory changes, export monitoring and sanctions. The consultations will continue both in the bilateral format and in the coalition of the signatory states. The ball is rolling on the international arena as well, including within the framework of the United Nations.
The coalition was established in March 2023, the original signatories are the United States, Australia, Denmark, France, Canada, Costa Rica, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Poland, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Germany and the Republic of Korea joined the coalition as well.
„Commercial spy software is abused around the world by authoritarian regimes, but also in democracies. All too often, these effective and invasive tools have been used to attack and intimidate opponents and facilitate actions to suppress dissent; restrict freedom of expression, peaceful assembly or association; enable human rights violations, abuse or suppression of Civil Liberties; track or attack citizens without adequate legal basis, protection or supervision. The misuse of these tools poses significant and growing risks to our national security, including the safety and security of government human resources, information, and information systems,” the 2023 joint statement said.
The coalition will:
- Act within national systems to establish safeguards and procedures to ensure that commercial software used by the government complies with respect to human rights, the rule of law, and civil rights and freedoms.
- Prevent the export of software, technology and hardware to users who may use it contrary to the ideas of the coalition, for example, violating human rights or restricting civil liberties.
- Exchange information on the spread and misuse of commercial spyware, in order to better identify and track said tools.
- Work with partners from the private sector and civil society to raise risk awareness and set appropriate standards, while continuing to support innovation.
- Involve other countries and other stakeholders.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Marcin Karwowski