Press release on new facts of global surveillance by the United States
The Russian authorities have uncovered a new fact of the US special services using American IT companies for global surveillance of US and other countries’ citizens. In this instance, they used the software vulnerabilities of US-made smartphones.
This fact has conclusively proven what Moscow has been speaking about for a long time, namely, that the US intelligence services have been using IT giants for decades to collect internet users’ personal data without their knowledge. More evidence of this illegal activity comes to light every year.
Time and again, we addressed the concerned international platforms on the need to restore order and formulate the universal rules of conduct in the digital environment based on respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals and the sovereign equality of states. In January 2021, the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation adopted a statement on the violation of the freedom of speech principle by US global IT companies and on drafting an international convention to regulate their operations. Practice has shown that Washington is not ready to consider our proposals.
The United States has placed itself above the law. We have provided the UN with ample evidence of the double standards that country and its special services and companies have been using in the sphere of international information security (IIS).
We once again call on all the concerned parties to formulate clear and fair regulations in the digital sphere that would be binding for all states and especially ICT designers. This is the goal of the initiatives Russia has advanced within the framework of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on IIS, primarily on a relevant draft convention and a global register of contact points for the exchange of information about computer incidents. No state has a right to abuse its technological capabilities in a sensitive sphere such as access to the personal data of smartphone users.
