Biden’s Executive Order on Commercial Spyware
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 31 March 2023
⏱️ 42 minutes
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Summary
On March 27, the Biden administration issued an Executive Order on Prohibition on Use by the United States Government of Commercial Spyware that Poses Risks to National Security. The Executive Order, as the title says, limits executive departments and agencies from using commercial spyware if they determine that its use would present a counterintelligence or security risk to the U.S., or if it poses significant risks of improper use by a foreign government or person.
To talk about the new executive order and its impact, Eugenia Lostri, Lawfare’s Fellow in Technology Policy and Law, sat down with Winnona DeSombre Bernsen, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. They talked about why this executive order is a welcomed development, how spyware companies might adjust their behavior in response, and what remains to be done to limit the misuse of these technologies.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following podcast contains advertising. |
| 0:04.0 | To access an ad-free version of the LawFair podcast, |
| 0:08.0 | become a material supporter of LawFair at patreon.com slash law fair. |
| 0:14.0 | That's patreon.com slash law fair. |
| 0:18.0 | Also, check out LawFair's other podcast offerings, |
| 0:22.0 | rational security, chatter, law fair no bull, and the aftermath. |
| 0:29.0 | The space really runs the gamut from large defense contractors to spyware companies like NSO, |
| 0:41.0 | to individual startups filled with 5 to 10 researchers. |
| 0:47.0 | It's all under this larger umbrella of people who are going to make money off of breaking into systems. |
| 0:55.0 | Again, some of these people will self-regulate and only sell to the US government or 5Is |
| 1:01.0 | or do a lot of due diligence in order to make sure that none of their products are being abused. |
| 1:07.0 | And some of them really don't care and actively invite some of the sketchier contracts out on the market. |
| 1:13.0 | I'm Eugenia Dahltri, LawFair's Fellow in Technology Policy and Law. |
| 1:18.0 | And this is the LawFair podcast March 31, 2023. |
| 1:23.0 | On March 27, the Biden administration issued an executive order on prohibition on use by the United States government |
| 1:31.0 | of commercial spyware that poses risks to national security. |
| 1:37.0 | The executive order, as the title says, limits executive departments and agencies from using commercial spyware |
| 1:44.0 | if they determine that its use would present a countering challenge or security risk to the United States. |
| 1:51.0 | Or if it poses significant risks of improper use by a foreign government or person. |
| 1:57.0 | To talk about the new executive order and its impact, I sat down with Winona the Sombri Burnson, |
| 2:04.0 | non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. |
| 2:08.0 | We talked about why this executive order is a welcome development, |
... |
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