MADRID — Renewable energy investors who lost subsidies promised by Spain are heading to a London court to try to claw back $125 million from the government — a decadelong dispute with ramifications for clean energy financing across the European Union.
The outcome will be closely watched by investors after the U.S. passed a new law offering incentives for homegrown green technology. Experts say the Inflation Reduction Act is already drawing clean energy investment away from EU countries like Spain, leaving the 27-nation bloc much less competitive globally.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has proposed its own rules on allowing state aid and incentives for green investment. But those changes would not affect court cases already underway.
The lawsuit in London’s Commercial Court this week involves investors from the Netherlands and Luxembourg who poured millions into a solar plant in southern Spain in 2011. The Spanish government offered subsidies to encourage growth in renewable energy production, then controversially slashed the payments without notice as it cut costs after the 2008 financial crisis.
Spain has been sued internationally more than 50 times over the retroactive changes. It has not paid out despite losing more than 20 cases so far, according to U.N. data on international investment disputes. The EU backs Spain’s position.
“Those renewable investors — multibillion-dollar companies — are very concerned about the attitude of Spain and Europe looking forward,” said Nick Cherryman, one of the lawyers leading the case against Spain. “Why should they take risks investing in Europe given the track record?”
Spain now ranks alongside Venezuela and Russia as countries with the most unpaid debts over commercial treaty violations, according to a recent ranking compiled by Nikos Lavranos, a Netherlands-based expert in investment arbitration and EU law.
Most of the cases allege that Spain broke agreements it agreed to honor under the international Energy Charter Treaty, a legally binding agreement between 50 countries to protect companies from unfair government interference in the energy sector.
Environmental campaigners have criticised the treaty for protecting fossil fuel investment because financiers can also sue over policy changes aimed at scaling back polluting projects. However, for Spain, almost all cases relate to renewable energy.
“If you take the bigger picture, the EU is shooting itself in the foot by supporting Spain in this,” Lavranos said. “You cannot trust that they can follow through with their agreements, so I think you do shake investors’ confidence.”
He also questioned how leaving investors in the lurch over initiatives to ramp up renewable energy production aligned with recent EU initiatives like the Green New Deal, a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 and relaxation of subsidy rules.
“It’s very contradictory,” Lavranos said.
In 2013, the investors in Spain brought a case before the World Bank-backed International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, an arbitration body between governments and investors.
Spain in 2018 was ordered to compensate investors over its subsidy changes. Despite being told to pay out more than $1 billion by the international body, Spain has refused, citing EU rules.
Spain’s Ecological Transition Ministry said the payments “may be contrary to EU law and constitute illegal state aid.” When the government is told to make a payout, it says it notifies Brussels but that “Spain cannot pay before the commission’s decision, so it is faithfully complying with its legal obligations.”
The European Commission said the Energy Charter Treaty does not apply in disputes between member states like the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Spain, arguing EU law takes precedence. The commission says the decision to compensate investors over lost Spanish subsidies is still being studied and “the preliminary view is that the arbitration award would constitute state aid.”
Cherryman, the investors’ lawyer, said the EU thinks it “should be superior to international treaty law.” After waiting for payment for a decade and given the EU position, his team is trying to seize part of a $1 billion settlement awarded to Spain over a 2002 oil spill.
Starting Wednesday, the London court will hear Spain’s arguments that the investors should not be allowed to seize those assets in lieu of compensation they have yet to be paid.
José Ángel Rueda, a Spanish international arbitration lawyer who has represented several renewable energy investors against Spain, said the country’s reputation is at stake. Other EU members like Germany and Hungary have paid out after international disputes, opting to maintain a positive image, he said.
“Spain is not like Russia or Venezuela. It was expected to be a serious country. But the awards remain unpaid,” Rueda said. “Investors can see that Spain might not be a reliable state in terms of the rule of law.”
Following years of legal wrangling, the EU is now considering a coordinated withdrawal from the energy treaty, though that would not affect pending disputes.
“It is not possible to modernize the treaty to make it compatible with the objectives of the Paris agreement and the European Green Deal,” Spain’s Ecological Transition Ministry said.
The European Commission agreed, saying a withdrawal was “the most pragmatic way forward.”
That might simply nudge investors to look across the Atlantic, Cherryman said.
“America has been nimble, and it introduced very favorable legislation to encourage renewable investment,” he said. “They will respect my investment. Or I can take risk and go into Europe, go into Spain.”
The risk was the loss of more money for renewables, which are “a win for everybody,” Cherryman said. “We all want to see renewables being invested in and we all want a greener environment that is a safer future for our children.”
DANVILLE — Recent high egg prices have people thinking about raising their own chickens, specifically for egg production.
The Danville City Council’s Public Services Committee Tuesday night will hear a presentation from resident Ethan Massey representing Chicken Hens in Danville IL about the allowance of backyard hens. The committee meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 17 W. Main St.
Massey, the husband of Comptroller Ashlyn Massey, started a Facebook group and page titled “Chicken Hens in Danville IL” to “discuss the benefits of chicken hens in Danville, promote awareness and advocate for city ordinance changes. Will also serve as a local resource to share local chicken information etc.”
The public group currently has 41 members.
Residents have gone to city officials in the past, with more than 100 petition signatures from supporters for chickens to be allowed in the city limits, but officials have not backed an ordinance or zoning changes to allow backyard chickens.
Some aldermen have suggested more research be done on the matter, but the majority have voiced concerns about more workload for city inspectors, regulation, disease, predators, residents living in the city for a reason and more problems for the city when it already has enough issues to deal with.
According to the Chicken Hens in Danville group: Benefits of backyard hens — Sustainable: Carbon footprint reduction in comparison to commercial egg supply chain; Less premature hen slaughter (from clustered hen health issues and viruses); and food supply resiliency (U.S. egg inventories were down to 29% in December 2022); Ecological Benefits: use of human food scraps; natural and safe lawn and garden fertilizer; and insect management. Economical: fluctuating food supply has meant fluctuating prices. Up to 60% rise in price increase for eggs during 2022. Health: Pasture raised eggs contain 2x Omega 3s, 3x Vitamin D, 4x Vitamin E, as well as up to 7x more beta carotene than conventionally raised eggs.
Why hens in Danville? Accessibility: access to highly nutritious eggs regardless of income. Education for children: teaches where food originates from; instills responsibility, animal lifecycle and rewarding hard work. Desirable place to live: growing trends in the U.S. are in favor of backyard chicken hens aligning Danville to the already existing agrarian culture within Vermilion County and the surrounding villages, and Champaign also has made provision for backyard hens within its city limits. Changing lot supply within the city limits: positive use of space as some yards are becoming significantly larger in size (through the city side lot program).
How it would work: no roosters, no chicken slaughter on site, must be housed in an exterior coop, permit application, requirements met prior to obtaining hens, property requirements, limited hens based on property size, single-family home, and owner-occupied or landlord approved. Coop Guidelines: not visible from the road, regularly cleaned requirements, limited distance from property line, structure meeting a variety of requirements, hen run, covered fully, and property line distance.
The group also states there shouldn’t be problems with smell or noise. Roosters make up most of the commonly associated sounds, and they would not be permitted with this plan.
Also Tuesday, the committee will have a public hearing for the 2023 Community Development Block Grant draft annual action plan.
In other business, the committee will consider:
Authorizing a contract for dedicated fiber internet connection and fiber ethernet network services. The city’s Comcast contract for fiber optic wide area network service expires in June 2023.
- The new AT&T contract would provide internet connection and ethernet private network services to all city facilities from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2028, at a monthly cost of $8,447.80.
- Purchasing a Ferrara Igniter Custom Pumper Apparatus for $792,238 through authorized dealer A.E.C. Fire & Safety. The total is from a bid of $776,704 and $15,534.08 from pre-build estimate of 2%. The total price for the new pumper exceeded the amount originally allocated in the city’s American Rescue Plan Act spending plan. Funds will come from ARPA and the city’s general fund.
- Amending language changes in Chapter 111 of city code regarding ambulances.
- Purchasing two police vehicles for $98,138.50, not including special emergency equipment up-fitting, from Andy Mohr Ford of Plainfield, Ind.
- Approving a retirement plan consulting program agreement.
- Authorizing an agreement to add a 457(b) Roth provision to the nationwide deferred compensation plan.
- Authorizing the creation of Fund 605 as an Opioid Settlement Fund. The city is participating in consolidated lawsuits in the Circuit Court of Cook County with other participating local governments. The intent behind the lawsuits is to seek penalties, restitution, disgorgement of revenues, and costs to remediate the public nuisance as well as damages and injunctions against numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and other related persons and entities arising from their actions and/or inactions which contributed to the opioid epidemic and resulting public health crisis, according to the ordinance. Danville was allowed to join in the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement along with other local Illinois governmental units to ensure the fair apportionment of all sums collected from any opioid defendant by way of judgement or settlement and sums received have restricted uses.
- Amending city code pertaining to compensation of municipal employees. Changes include updating elected officials’ salaries; creating the position of Community Relations Content Manager with a salary range of $35,000 to $45,000; creating the position of IT Support Specialist with a salary range of $35,000 to $45,000; retitling the position of Parks & Public Properties Manager to Facilities and Grounds Manager; 2% salary increases for the three previous mentioned positions; and base hourly pay increases for auxiliary workers, interns, peer court supervisor, playground assistant and pool and other workers including mass transit part-time dispatchers to be changed to mass transit part-time logistics
- specialist. The ordinance would be effective May 1, 2023, or otherwise under a collective bargaining agreement.
- Enacting and adopting supplement to the code of ordinances.
Attleboro area legislators continue to push for a bill that monitors and reduces the commercial use of rodent-killing pesticides following the death of a bald eagle earlier this month.
Marissa Walker is a reporter with the Boston University Statehouse Program.
SUNBURY — About 50 property owners came to listen to City Council answer questions Monday about the mandatory commercial property inspections Sunbury is beginning to enforce.
Jackie Hart, a representative of North East Inspection Consultants (NEIC), was in attendance and answered only one question directed toward her.
Owners asked who approved exemptions from having to pay the $200 fee and bypass the inspection process.
Hart said that decision is up to council. The 45-minute question and answer period went by with only a few questions but more concerns.
“What are we going to do with some of the condemned properties in town,” property owner Laurie Johnson asked. “Are we going to fine them? And if so, what if they don’t pay?”
Solicitor Joel Wiest said the city can then work on taking over the property if need be.
Councilman John Barnhart said the inspections, which will begin in mid-April and are required under a city ordinance, will be carried out using the IPMC 2015, (International Property Maintenance Code) by the city’s designated licensed inspector, North East Inspection Consultants, according to the ordinance.
Code Department Supervisor Jeff Wojciechowsk previously said 466 commercial property owners received letters about the inspections.
Other questions were asked who was getting the money from the fees.
Sunbury Mayor Josh Brosious said $160 of the money goes to NEIC and that the city was not making any money.
Another question was what will happen to the former Sunbury Police Station building on Market Street.
Barnhart said the city is showing a sign of good faith and having all city properties inspected and that any repairs that are needed would be done. Including the former police station. Barnhart said the former station would then be sold.
Brosious and Barnhart both told those in attendance that the city is doing these inspections for safety reasons.
“We are doing this to improve our city,” Barnhart said.
Council also met and approved another $5,000 in donations from various organizations and businesses toward the wetlands project.
Council meets again on April 10.
DANVILLE — A group of more than 60 local residents, Illinois Freedom Caucus and Right to Life members attended a press conference and protest Monday across the street from the former Dillman Eye Care where an abortion clinic is proposed.
The group is trying to stop Counseling of Indiana’s Ladonna Prince from opening an abortion clinic at 600 N. Logan Ave. in Danville.
According to the Vermilion County Recorder’s Office, McGhee Investment group LLC bought the property for $200,000.
According to the website for the Clinic for Women in Indianapolis, where Prince is the administrator, the clinic since 1977 has provided safe and legal pregnancy terminations through the first trimester. Ultrasound and pregnancy testing is available with appointment. Family planning options, supplies and exams are also available by appointment. Both female and male physicians are available.
The Clinic for Women states it is a member of the National Abortion Federation and the National Coalition of Abortion Providers. It also states, “the choice to terminate a pregnancy is one of the most private and difficult decisions a woman may make. We recognize that no two women are the same and are dedicated to meeting and exceeding the needs of every woman.”
Prince could not be reached for comment.
The city of Danville has no correspondence for a new use or building permit applications for 600 N. Logan Ave.
One city official attending Monday’s press conference was Ward 6 Alderman Ethan Burt.
Speakers at the press conference on Monday in Danville included state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) who is chairman of the Illinois Freedom Caucus.
The caucus also is comprised of state representatives: Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), vice-chairman; Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur); Jed Davis (R-Newark) and David Friess (R-Red Bud). The members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are members of the Illinois General Assembly who are advocating for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.
Also in attendance at Monday’s press conference were Illinois Right to Life Executive Director Mary Kate Zander and Mark Lee Dickson, director with Right to Life East Texas and founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative.
Miller welcomed those in attendance saying they were there on Monday to talk about a life and death topic.
According to the Illinois Freedom Caucus, the intent of the clinics being built in rural counties is not to address the health concerns of Illinois residents but to capture the growing number of out-of-state abortions being performed in Illinois.
Miller said nearly 30 percent of all abortions in 2022 involved women out of state. Prior to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs vs. Jackson decision, only about 6 percent of abortions at Illinois clinics involved women from out of state. Women from 31 different states had abortions in Illinois last year.
“We’re rapidly becoming the baby-killing capital of the Midwest,” Miller said.
Miller said the group members were in Danville to express their opposition to the proposed clinic.
Niemerg, who represents the southern part of Vermilion County, said it warmed his heart to see all the citizens with them on Monday.
“The people of Danville don’t want this abortion clinic in their community,” Niemerg said, with many in attendance voicing their agreement with him. “My office has received numerous phone calls from people upset by what’s happening in their own backyard. There seems to be a sinister effort to bring abortion clinics to parts of Illinois that are overwhelmingly pro-life, just to make some sort of point. The far-left has moved far beyond merely making abortion legal. They have become abortion advocates.”
“We don’t need more abortions in Illinois, and we certainly don’t need this clinic,” Niemerg said.
Halbrook said what is needed in downstate Illinois is a solution to the doctor shortage in rural areas. He said about 75 of 102 counties are considered primary care deserts.
“What we need in downstate Illinois is more doctors – not abortion providers,” Halbrook said. “We have a physician shortage issue in rural Illinois … People often have to drive long distances just to get routine tests and basic medical services. We should be addressing the physician shortages instead of opening more abortion clinics.”
He said Illinois should be prioritizing nurses and doctors who save lives.
Zander said this abortion clinic is unwanted by this community. The crowd then clapped and voiced their agreement.
“This is a conservative, pro-life community that wants to support women, that wants to support women who are experiencing crisis pregnancies, that is not interested in killing babies,” she said.
She said this situation has been created by far-left politicians who are up near Chicago and don’t know anything about this area. She said these politicians are interested in serving this abortion provider who is interested in the business opportunity this location provides to her.
“(Prince) is interested in drawing women from Indiana …,” Zander said.
Zander too said the community will be changed by the presence of this abortion clinic. She said Prince is coming from out of state to exploit this community, and the community doesn’t want it.
Those with the caucus have said the explosion of abortion clinics in Illinois is about making money; and that abortion is the most protected industry in Illinois.
Dickson said there are 65 cities and two counties in the U.S. that passed ordinances prohibiting abortion within their jurisdictions. In the last month, Dickson said he’s been working throughout Danville and meeting with leaders who want to see this abortion facility not become a reality.
“I’m here to say that it is possible. We are working in three different communities right now across the United States that are experiencing the same problem; these border-city abortion battles,” Dickson said, talking too about Virginia and Nevada.
“The voice of this city is loud,” he said of Danville, and added that an ordinance could be expected to go forward in the city of Danville that can stop the abortion facility from opening and performing abortions. The ordinance would require compliance with some federal statutes which would not allow the abortion facility to receive abortion-inducing drugs and abortion paraphernalia at this location.
First Baptist Church of Danville Senior Pastor Paul Rebert also spoke, saying he was speaking on behalf of many believers in the community, that the clinic is not their will and not the will of God.
“A society that kills for convenience and tolerates and promotes the victimization of those without a voice, feels it has the right to decide which innocent lives live or die,” he said. He also led the group in a prayer.
Local resident Gail Collins, who was holding a sign that read, “Satan will convince you to abort then accuse you for the rest of your life,” said she attended the press conference because she has strong feelings about the issue.
“My family’s been touched by abortion. I’ve seen what it can do post abortion,” she said, adding someone possibly not being told or realizing what’s going to affect them afterward.
The group said next steps include continuing to push legislation and an anti-abortion message.
An “eye-sore” property on Ferry Street will be home of an eight-storey, 77-unit condominium and three-unit commercial development after Niagara Falls city council granted zoning amendment approvals Tuesday.
“I just want to say what a great development,” said Coun. Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg. “That has been an eye-sore for, oh gosh, 20 years, so it looks absolutely fantastic.”
An architect for the applicant, Niagara Midtown Bowling Ltd., said the development is proposed for a “great location” “left undeveloped for many years.”
“There is a big need for residential units in Niagara Falls,” said Giuseppe Colosimo. “It is an enhancement for the community. The only thing it’s going to add is value to the adjacent properties. It’s going to be a super exciting project — a world-class project, from both design and construction methodology.”
The vacant property is on the north side of Ferry Street, between Temperance and Gladstone avenues.
City planner Alexa Cooper said the two properties — 5687 Ferry St. and 5660 Spring St. — have merged on title.
She said the proposal conforms to provincial, regional and local policies.
Council’s approval includes a holding provision requiring the developer to, in part, complete third-party modelling for sanitary services to the satisfaction of staff.
Coun. Lori Lococo said she was “very glad” to see the holding provision because “quite often our residents will say that development can’t be handled by the sanitary sewer.”
She asked staff whether an approved, but separate development across the street at the old Continental Inn has a similar holding provision on it.
Erik Nickel, manager of municipal works, said when third-party modelling is done, the company doing so would have “all of the relevant development data at their disposal.”
“They would look at any existing approvals and make sure that those future flows are also included in the existing flows, to make sure that the sewer system is able to handle it,” he said.
Cooper said setbacks recommended by staff will provide space for fencing and adequately buffer the development from existing residential uses.
Christine Burke, a 26-year Spring Street resident, addressed council about concerns.
“I have in front of me signatures of 16 other residents in my area that oppose this development and the reasons stated were not only concerns about the heights — we are also concerned about the construction, the mess of the construction, the noise of the construction,” she said.
Burke said residents also have parking concerns.
“We’re concerned about the traffic that it’s going to cause, as well as the traffic delays it will cause in our neighbourhood,” she said. “There is also a (development) right on the corner beside the Dairy Queen, so we feel in our neighbourhood … we don’t really need this. I understand that it’s been a vacant property for years and we kind of like it that way.”
“For traffic, city transportation staff had no concerns as Spring Street would continue to operate with a satisfactory level of service and (Niagara) Region’s transportation staff had no concerns on Ferry Street,” she said.
The site will contain 105 parking spaces below grade as well as at grade and within the second floor at the rear of the building and each of the 77 condos will have its own parking.
Colosimo said the majority of the building will be pre-fabricated by a local company, limiting noise and construction timelines.
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An “eye-sore” property on Ferry Street will be the future home of an eight-storey, 77-unit condominium and three-unit commercial development after Niagara Falls city council granted zoning-amendment approvals to permit the proposal Tuesday.
“I just want to say what a great development,” said Coun. Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg. “That has been an eye sore for, oh gosh, 20 years, so it looks absolutely fantastic.”
An architect for the applicant, Niagara Midtown Bowling Ltd., said the development is proposed for a “great location” “left undeveloped for many years.”
“There is a big need for residential units in Niagara Falls,” said Giuseppe Colosimo. “It is an enhancement for the community. The only thing it’s going to add is value to the adjacent properties. It’s going to be a super exciting project — a world-class project, from both design and construction methodology.”
The vacant property is on the north side of Ferry Street, between Temperance and Gladstone avenues.
City planner Alexa Cooper said the two properties — 5687 Ferry Street and 5660 Spring Street — have now merged on title.
She said the proposal conforms to provincial, regional and local policies.
Council’s approval includes a holding provision requiring the developer to, in part, complete third-party modelling for sanitary services to the satisfaction of staff.
Coun. Lori Lococo said she was “very glad” to see the holding provision because “quite often our residents will say that development can’t be handled by the sanitary sewer.”
She asked staff whether an approved, but separate development across the street at the old Continental Inn also has a similar holding provision on it.
Erik Nickel, the city’s manager of municipal works, said when third-party modelling is done, the company doing so would have “all of the relevant development data at their disposal.”
“They would look at any existing approvals and make sure that those future flows are also included in the existing flows, to make sure that the sewer system is able to handle it,” he said.
Nickel said the applicant for the 5687 Ferry Street and 5660 Spring Street development will pay for a third-party to do a model of the sewers.
“So, they’ll look at flows coming out of the building and if the size of the sewer on street is large enough to handle that capacity,” he said. “If it’s not, there will be a requirement for them to upsize it in order to service their property. We won’t lift the holding provision until the sewers are adequate or the plan (is) adequate to handle the sewers coming off that property.”
Cooper said setbacks recommended by staff will provide space for fencing and adequately buffer the development from existing residential uses.
Christine Burke, a 26-year Spring Street resident, addressed council about concerns.
“I have in front of me signatures of 16 other residents in my area that oppose this development and the reasons stated were not only concerns about the heights — we are also concerned about the construction, the mess of the construction, the noise of the construction,” she said.
Burke said residents also have parking concerns.
“We’re concerned about the traffic that it’s going to cause, as well as the traffic delays it will cause in our neighbourhood,” she said. “There is also a (development) right on the corner beside the Dairy Queen, so we feel in our neighbourhood … we don’t really need this. I understand that it’s been a vacant property for years and we kind of like it that way.”
Cooper said within that node, development height of buildings is anticipated to be between six to 13 storeys.
“For traffic, city transportation staff had no concerns as Spring Street would continue to operate with a satisfactory level of service and (Niagara) Region’s transportation staff had no concerns on Ferry Street,” she said. “The noise bylaw regulates our noise and a road-occupancy permit would be issued before Spring Street could be occupied by any construction equipment, if required. A construction management plan would be required at site-plan as well.”
The site will contain 105 parking spaces below grade as well as at grade and within the second floor at the rear of the building.
Colosimo said each of the 77 condos will have its own parking.
“They’re mostly one and two bedrooms, there are no three bedrooms, so (concerns about people) having multiple cars doesn’t really apply,” he said.
Colosimo said the majority of the building will be pre-fabricated by a local company, limiting noise and construction timelines.
“The client wants to expedite the process. This means that your typical 18 months construction can be reduced all the way to 10 months and we’re looking at even more reduction, especially given the pre-fab status of the majority of the building. You will have very little noise and construction.”
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Washington — The U.S. government will restrict its use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world, under an executive order issued Monday by President Biden.
The order responds to growing U.S. and global concerns about programs that can capture text messages and other cellphone data. Some programs — so-called “zero-click” exploits — can infect a phone without the user clicking on a malicious link.
Governments around the world — including the U.S. — are known to collect large amounts of data for intelligence and law enforcement purposes, including communications from their own citizens. The proliferation of commercial spyware has made powerful tools newly available to smaller countries, but also created what researchers and human-rights activists warn are opportunities for abuse and repression.
The White House released the executive order in advance of its second summit for democracy this week. The order “demonstrates the United States’ leadership in, and commitment to, advancing technology for democracy, including by countering the misuse of commercial spyware and other surveillance technology,” the White House said in a statement.
Mr. Biden’s order, billed as a prohibition on using commercial spyware “that poses risks to national security,” allows for some exceptions.
The order will require the head of any U.S. agency using commercial programs to certify that the program doesn’t pose a significant counterintelligence or other security risk, a senior administration official said.
Among the factors that will be used to determine the level of security risk is if a foreign actor has used the program to monitor U.S. citizens without legal authorization or surveil human rights activists and other dissidents.
“It is intended to be a high bar but also includes remedial steps that can be taken … in which a company may argue that their tool has not been misused,” said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under White House ground rules.
The White House will not publish a list of banned programs as part of the executive order, the official said.
John Scott-Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab who has long studied spyware, credited the Biden administration for trying to set new global standards for the industry.
“Most spyware companies see selling to the U.S. as their eventual exit path,” Scott-Railton said. “The issue is the U.S. until now hasn’t really wielded its purchasing power to push the industry to do better.”
Congress last year required U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate foreign use of spyware and gave the Office of the Director of National Intelligence the power to ban any agency from using commercial programs.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a committee hearing last year that commercial spyware posed a “very serious threat to our democracy and to democracies around the world.” He said Monday the new order would be a “critical tool” that should be followed by other democracies taking steps against spyware.
“It’s a very powerful statement and a good tool, but alone it won’t do the trick,” he said.
Perhaps the best known example of spyware, the Pegasus software from Israel’s NSO Group, was used to target more than 1,000 people across 50 countries, according to security researchers and a July 2021 global media investigation, citing a list of more than 50,000 cellphone numbers. The U.S. has already placed export limits on NSO Group, restricting the company’s access to U.S. components and technology.
Officials would not say if U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies currently use any commercial spyware. The FBI last year confirmed it had purchased NSO Group’s Pegasus tool “for product testing and evaluation only,” and not for operational purposes or to support any investigation.
White House officials said Monday they believe 50 devices used by U.S. government employees, across 10 countries, had been compromised or targeted by commercial spyware.
Despite NSO’s assertions that the program is supposed to be used to counter terrorism and crime, researchers found the numbers of more than 180 journalists, 600 politicians and government officials, and 85 human rights activists.
Pegasus use was most commonly linked to Mexico and countries in the Middle East. Amnesty International has alleged Pegasus was installed on the phone of Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée just four days before the journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. NSO has denied the allegation that its software was used in connection with Khashoggi’s murder.
The family of Paul Rusesabagina, credited with saving more than 1,200 lives during the Rwandan genocide, a story depicted in the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” has also alleged it was targeted by spyware. Rusesabagina was lured back to Rwanda under false pretenses and jailed on terrorism charges before his release last week. Rwanda has denied using commercial spyware.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government will restrict its use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world, under an executive order issued Monday by President Joe Biden.
The order responds to growing U.S. and global concerns about programs that can capture text messages and other cellphone data. Some programs — so-called “zero-click” exploits — can infect a phone without the user clicking on a malicious link.
Governments around the world — including the U.S. — are known to collect large amounts of data for intelligence and law enforcement purposes, including communications from their own citizens. The proliferation of commercial spyware has made powerful tools newly available to smaller countries, but also created what researchers and human-rights activists warn are opportunities for abuse and repression.
The White House released the executive order in advance of its second summit for democracy this week. The order “demonstrates the United States’ leadership in, and commitment to, advancing technology for democracy, including by countering the misuse of commercial spyware and other surveillance technology,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden’s order, billed as a prohibition on using commercial spyware “that poses risks to national security,” allows for some exceptions.
The order will require the head of any U.S. agency using commercial programs to certify that the program doesn’t pose a significant counterintelligence or other security risk, a senior administration official said.
Among the factors that will be used to determine the level of security risk is if a foreign actor has used the program to monitor U.S. citizens without legal authorization or surveil human rights activists and other dissidents.
“It is intended to be a high bar but also includes remedial steps that can be taken … in which a company may argue that their tool has not been misused,” said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under White House ground rules.
The White House will not publish a list of banned programs as part of the executive order, the official said.
John Scott-Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab who has long studied spyware, credited the Biden administration for trying to set new global standards for the industry.
“Most spyware companies see selling to the U.S. as their eventual exit path,” Scott-Railton said. “The issue is the U.S. until now hasn’t really wielded its purchasing power to push the industry to do better.”
Congress last year required U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate foreign use of spyware and gave the Office of the Director of National Intelligence the power to ban any agency from using commercial programs.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a committee hearing last year that commercial spyware posed a “very serious threat to our democracy and to democracies around the world.” He said Monday the new order would be a “critical tool” that should be followed by other democracies taking steps against spyware.
“It’s a very powerful statement and a good tool, but alone it won’t do the trick,” he said.
Perhaps the best known example of spyware, the Pegasus software from Israel’s NSO Group, was used to target more than 1,000 people across 50 countries, according to security researchers and a July 2021 global media investigation, citing a list of more than 50,000 cellphone numbers. The U.S. has already placed export limits on NSO Group, restricting the company’s access to U.S. components and technology.
Officials would not say if U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies currently use any commercial spyware. The FBI last year confirmed it had purchased NSO Group’s Pegasus tool “for product testing and evaluation only,” and not for operational purposes or to support any investigation.
White House officials said Monday they believe 50 devices used by U.S. government employees, across 10 countries, had been compromised or targeted by commercial spyware.
Despite NSO’s assertions that the program is supposed to be used to counter terrorism and crime, researchers found the numbers of more than 180 journalists, 600 politicians and government officials, and 85 human rights activists.
Pegasus use was most commonly linked to Mexico and countries in the Middle East. Amnesty International has alleged Pegasus was installed on the phone of Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée just four days before the journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. NSO has denied the allegation that its software was used in connection with Khashoggi’s murder.
The family of Paul Rusesabagina, credited with saving more than 1,200 lives during the Rwandan genocide, a story depicted in the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” has also alleged it was targeted by spyware. Rusesabagina was lured back to Rwanda under false pretenses and jailed on terrorism charges before his release last week. Rwanda has denied using commercial spyware.
Mr Kwarteng, whose mini-budget in September sent the value of the pound tumbling and mortgage rates soaring, went on to clarify that he would prefer the rate to be in pounds sterling.
Told by a fake employee of the company they were considering offering between £8,000 and £12,000 per day, with the intention for him to attend six board meetings a year, Mr Kwarteng said: “Ok yes, we’re not a million miles off. We can work with the numbers.”
Mr Gove told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that “all of us” will reflect on the investigation and consider where the focus of an MP should lie.
He said: “I think it’s pretty clear that things that were offered and things that were considered were within the rules, but inevitably all of us will reflect on this and think the first duty of a Member of Parliament is towards their constituents – and ultimately, the really important thing is, is an MP delivering for their constituents? Is a Member of Parliament doing everything they can to put public service first?”
On matters of due diligence, he said: “The individuals concerned will have to answer for themselves.”
He later told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show: “There are rules that govern what Members of Parliament should do and what they should declare, but the jury here is the constituency – so it will be the case, come a general election, if Matt or Kwasi choose to stand again, that their constituents will decide.
“I think they’re both talented people with a lot to offer in the future. but ultimately they will have to answer for the decisions that they’ve taken.”
Ms Powell told Ridge that being as MP is a “ whole lifetime commitment” as well as a “full time job”.
“Our constituents need us to be fully focused on that – not working out whether we’ve got other interests and whether we are pursuing other commercial ends in doing our jobs,” she said.
“So I was pretty appalled and sickened by those revelations. That’s why we’ll be redoubling our efforts to try and get second jobs banned for MPs.”