Greek journalists heard by European Parliament committee probing spyware
Three Greek journalists were heard by the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee on Thursday, where they presented their experiences and research involving use of illegal spyware and Greece’s surveillance scandal.
PEGA, set up in May 2022 to investigate infringement or maladministration in application of EU law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent spyware surveillance software, heard Thanassis Koukakis and Stavros Malichudis, who have both publicly denounced their tracking by spyware, and Eliza Triantafillou, who is following the unfolding wire-tapping story, which also involves the phone-tapping of PASOK-KINAL leader and MEP Nikos Androulakis.
Both Koukakis and Malichudis claimed that it was their core investigative work that seems to have led to electronic intrusions into their communications.
Koukakis noted that his surveillance would not have been placed in the appropriate context without PEGA’s recent inquiry on MEPs’ phones, which revealed that Androulakis’ phone had also been targeted. He also pointed out that EU regulation remains insufficient in terms of effectively monitoring and controlling spyware systems.
Malichudis noted that during the time of him being surveilled he was in contact with colleagues for the creation of an international journalists’ network that would look into refugee issues.
Triantafillou reportedly observed that official investigations into privacy breaches seem to move slowly, while investigations into media leaks move much faster.
