US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced it will begin publicly disclosing how frequently federal judges have authorized government use of spyware for wiretapping in criminal investigations. The move introduces a new layer of transparency into a surveillance practice that has largely operated out of public view.
Why this matters: Until now, the government could use spyware against people with judicial sign-off and the public had no way to know how often that was happening. Publishing the numbers does not stop the surveillance. But it creates a baseline. Advocates, journalists, and lawmakers need that baseline to even begin asking whether the practice is being used proportionately or abused. Transparency like this is small, but it is the minimum condition for any real accountability.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity
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