In the run-up to the European Parliament's vote on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), scheduled on 3 October, over 500 journalists have signed a letter calling on the Members of European Parliament to introduce an absolute ban on the deployment of spyware against journalists.

The European Federation of Journalists published Tuesday the letter in which the journalists complain that "many our colleagues across Europe and the world, have been unlawfully targeted in the past years, including by EU Member States." "Some of whom have used intrusive surveillance weapons against us, threatening and potentially breaching confidential communications with our sources, invading our private lives and putting our safety at risk," said the letter.

"Spyware is today a major threat to press freedom. It gives access to a disproportionate and unrestricted amount of data: all the individual's communications, photos, contacts and online behaviour data are collected - without the knowledge of the victim. The EU must urgently put an end to it," stressed the letter.

It noted that "several EU governments have infected journalists' phones with spyware while using national security as a pretext. Including the same grounds in future legislation would threaten our ability to hold governments to account, which is a cornerstone of EU democratic values. We need full and immediate protection." "We call on you today to prohibit the use of spyware against journalists in the EMFA," the letter concluded.

Brussels-based European Federation of Journalists is the largest journalists' organisation in Europe representing more than 320,000 journalists in 70 journalists' organisations across 44 countries in Europe.

Source: Kuwait News Agency