EU Targets Cyber Surveillance Exports And U.S. Considers Cyber Weapon Controls

In light of the recent high profile disclosures of cyber surveillance, there is increased political momentum in the U.S. and EU to control the export of particular cyber technology products and services. In the EU, the focus is on electronic surveillance equipment, and in the U.S., the concern is the proliferation of cyber weapons.

At an export control conference in Brussels this summer, a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Marietje Schaake, who sits on the Parliament's Committee of International Trade, called for EU regulation of "mass surveillance, mass censorship, tracking and tracing systems, as well as hacking tools and vulnerabilities that can be used to harm people".

Ms. Schaake's comments build on the European Parliament's adoption of a number of suggested amendments to the European Commission's proposal to amend the Dual-Use Regulation (428/2009) (the "Dual-Use Regulation"). These amendments include a proposal to include surveillance equipment within the "catch-all" provisions of the Dual-Use Regulation according to which EU Member States authorities may impose licensing requirement on items that are not listed specifically in Annex I of the Dual-Use Regulation. The European Parliament's proposals are an extension of the current EU sanctions against Iran and Syria which prohibit the export of equipment and technology that may be used for the monitoring and interception of internet and telephone communications.

If adopted, the new catch-all clause could subject EU exporters of IT surveillance equipment to a licensing requirement. How this provision will be applied in practice, however, will depend on the exact phrasing of the final text adopted by the EU institutions. Specific licensing decisions may, for example...