Prof. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Interviewed by Tech Policy Press About Proposed Ireland Law Allowing Use of Spyware

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Regents Professor and Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy, and Society, was interviewed by Tech Policy Press about Ireland considering a new bill that would legalize the use of spyware by the police. The Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill, which will update Ireland’s existing surveillance law dating back to 1993, aims to apply “to all forms of communications,” including the content of encrypted messages on apps such as Signal and WhatsApp. Some observers are concerned that the introduction of such laws confers extraordinary surveillance risks. Prof. Ní Aoláin said, “The proposed [spyware] law promises regulation but effectively gives permission for the use of highly intrusive technology without any proven case for its need in Ireland. Ireland lacks a meaningful oversight capacity for spyware and this law is a boon to surveillance abuse in a country that should not be leading on enabling spyware normalization.”