Amnesty International Luxembourg and the Committee for a Just Peace in the Near East (CPJPO) are organising a conference entitled "Spyware vs. Privacy: Can Human Rights Survive the Digital Battlefield?”, as part of the 42nd Festival of Migrations, Cultures and Citizenship, in Room 1 at LuxExpo The Box in Luxembourg-Kirchberg on Sunday 16 March 2025, from 17:00 to 18:30.
In a press release, Amnesty International Luxembourg stated that surveillance tools, such as spyware, are increasingly used by governments to monitor certain segments of their populations. Due to the lack of transparency regarding their use and their technical complexity, this can be a difficult topic to understand.
The non-governmental organisation also said that spyware can infect any phone, without even having to click on a link. Once infected, the device grants access to the camera, screen and all documents, images and videos contained on the device, including secure messaging services such as WhatsApp or Signal. The pretext for their use is the fight against terrorism, but many states have used them to monitor human rights defenders, journalists and political figures.
To demystify this complex topic, three experts from across Europe will explain what spyware is and how its sale and use should be regulated.
Amnesty International Luxembourg added that this topic is particularly important in the Luxembourg context, where many entities of the NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm and the creators of the "Pegasus" spyware, are present and involved in the sale of this software. Pegasus is described as a powerful spyware tool that can remotely and covertly infiltrate our smartphones. The conference will also explore Luxembourg's role in this matter.
Admission is free and no registration is required. The conference will be held in English, with simultaneous translation into French.
HOM
