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Updated October 28th, 2021 at 16:30 IST

Israel Envoy says firms like Pegasus-maker NSO can't sell to non-Government actors

The Ambassador said that every export of NSO needed an export licence of the Israeli government, which was only granted for exporting to fellow governments.

Reported by: Ananya Varma
Pegasus
Image: Pixabay/Embassies.Gov | Image:self
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Amid the row over spyware Pegasus, Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon on Thursday revealed that companies like NSO (developers of the software) could not sell their products to non-governmental actors. Speaking at a press conference, the Ambassador said that every export of NSO or such companies required an export licence of the Israeli government, which was only granted for exporting to fellow governments. Refraining from further commenting on the matter, Naor Gilon called it an 'internal matter' of India.

"I will not go into more details...NSA is a private Israeli company. Every export of NSO or such companies need an export licence of the Israeli government. We grant this export licence only for exporting to governments," he said. "This is the only main requirement that they cannot...under the requirements, they cannot sell it to non-governmental actors. What's happening here in India is an internal thing for India," Naor Gilon added.

SC appoints 3-member committee to probe 

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court bench led by CJI NV Ramana has appointed a technical committee to probe the Pegasus snoopgate allegations. Maintaining that privacy is important for all citizens, the CJI affirmed that the restrictions can be imposed only to safeguard national security and opined that this technology may have a chilling effect on the freedom of the press.

The CJI affirmed, "This court gave ample time to Centre to disclose all information regarding the pegasus attack since 2019. However, only a limited affidavit was filed throwing no light. If the Centre made stand clear the burden on us would have been less." He further observed, "The state cannot get a free pass every time by raising national security concerns. No omnibus prohibition can be called against judicial review. The Centre should have justified its stand here and not render the court a mute spectator."

The allegations surfaced after French non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International accessed a leaked database of 50,000 phone numbers allegedly targetted by the software. Reports claimed that over 300 Indian mobile numbers including that of 40 journalists, businesspersons, one constitutional authority, three opposition leaders and two sitting Ministers in the Union government were monitored.

Image: Pixabay/Embassies.Gov

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Published October 28th, 2021 at 16:30 IST

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