The Trump administration says it has lifted sanctions on three executives linked to a spyware company that the federal government previously accused of aiding “an effort to covertly surveil US government officials, journalists, and policy experts.”
Reuters was first to flag Tuesday’s announcement from the U.S. Treasury that it had reversed the Biden administration’s 2024 sanctions on the three execs for their ties to Intellexa, a consortium launched by a former Israeli intelligence officer. Intellexa has faced condemnation over its ominously named Predator spy technology, which has been used by repressive regimes against perceived enemies.
Amnesty International, working in tandem with multiple international news outlets, recently published findings of an investigation into human rights threats posed by Predator, including its apparent use to spy on a Greek journalist.
But the Trump administration seems to think some of the executives who were sanctioned last year should no longer face punishment. As Reuters noted:
The [Treasury Department’s] notice said sanctions were lifted on Sara Hamou, whom the U.S. government accused of providing managerial services to Intellexa, Andrea Gambazzi, whose company was alleged by the U.S. government to have held the distribution rights to the Predator spyware, and Merom Harpaz, described by U.S. officials as a top executive in the [Intellexa] consortium.
The Treasury Department reportedly told Reuters that this “was done as part of the normal administrative process in response to a petition request for reconsideration” and said each of the executives had “demonstrated measures to separate themselves from the Intellexa Consortium.” The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.
But the Trump administration’s deference to those who have played a role in spreading repressive spy technology is beginning to become a pattern. I previously wrote about the Trump administration reactivating the federal government’s contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-founded spyware technology company whose products have been used by repressive regimes. And it’s also noteworthy that David Friedman, Trump’s former U.S. ambassador to Israel, recently took the helm at NSO Group, another controversial spyware firm. News that the administration has reversed course on punishing executives tied to yet another spyware provider seems unlikely to quell brewing concerns about its own surveillance ambitions.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
