Ireland is considering new legislation that would expand surveillance powers for law enforcement, including the regulated use of spyware, as the government seeks to modernize interception rules to address encrypted communications and serious crime.
Government Introduces Draft Interception Bill
The Irish government announced this week the introduction of the Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill, a proposal that would regulate lawful interception technologies used by authorities. The bill would cover surveillance tools, including spyware developed by companies such as Intellexa, NSO Group, and Paragon Solutions.
Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s minister for justice, home affairs, and migration, said there is an urgent need for a new legal framework to confront serious crime and security threats. He said the proposed law would also include legal safeguards to ensure the use of interception powers is necessary and proportionate.
Existing Law Predates Encrypted Communications
The primary motivation for the new legislation is that Ireland’s current law governing lawful interception dates back to 1993. That framework predates modern communication tools, including end to end encrypted messaging and calling services.
Communications protected by end to end encryption are generally inaccessible to authorities unless they gain access to a target’s device. This can be done remotely using government spyware or locally through forensic tools such as those made by Cellebrite.
Scope Of Proposed Surveillance Powers
The government said the new bill would apply to all forms of communications, whether encrypted or not. Authorities would be permitted to obtain both the content of communications and related metadata.
The announcement said the powers would be subject to privacy, encryption, and digital security safeguards. These include judicial authorization and restrictions limiting use to specific cases that meet a test of necessity and proportionality in relation to serious crime or threats to state security.
Explicit Reference To Covert Spyware Use
While the legislation has not yet been written, the announcement includes a section calling for a new legal basis for the use of covert surveillance software to access electronic devices. This language directly references computer and mobile spyware as a method for investigating serious crimes.
The proposal comes as the use of government spyware continues to expand globally, including in Europe, despite past cases where such tools were used in ways that raised human rights concerns.
History Of Spyware Use In Europe
Although many early spyware scandals were associated with countries in the Middle East and South America, where human rights standards vary, multiple European countries have also faced scrutiny in recent years. Cases involving alleged misuse of spyware have emerged in Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Poland.
Spyware has been used in Europe for more than two decades. In 2004, Italy’s cybercrime unit Polizia Postale signed a contract with Hacking Team, marking what is believed to be the first documented sale of government spyware. The company later shut down following a major data breach.
In 2007, Jörg Ziercke, then head of Germany’s federal criminal police office, the Bundeskriminalamt, said publicly that his agency was using computer spyware. The following year, WikiLeaks revealed that a company called DigiTask was supplying spyware to German authorities to capture Skype calls.
In 2011, the Chaos Computer Club identified spyware on the computer of a businessman passing through Munich airport. The group attributed the malware to German police and referred to it as Bundestrojaner, or federal trojan.
Ongoing Debate And European Oversight
At the time, many of these cases attracted limited public attention. Later disclosures documenting the use of European made spyware in countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates brought broader awareness to the issue.
Some European countries, including Italy, have enacted laws regulating spyware use. The European Union has also sought to establish common standards for surveillance technologies in response to repeated controversies across member states.
Featured image credits: Flickr
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.