{"id":679670,"date":"2025-07-12T12:50:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-an-ethical-spyware-maker-justify-providing-its-tech-to-ice\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T12:50:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T09:50:21","slug":"can-an-ethical-spyware-maker-justify-providing-its-tech-to-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-an-ethical-spyware-maker-justify-providing-its-tech-to-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Can an \u2018ethical\u2019 spyware maker justify providing its tech to ICE?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2578565a544\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2578565a544\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-an-ethical-spyware-maker-justify-providing-its-tech-to-ice\/#Contact_Us\" >Contact Us<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paragon, an Israeli spyware company that claims to operate as an \u201cethical\u201d surveillance vendor, faced scrutiny when earlier this year Italy was caught using Paragon\u2019s tools to spy on the phones of two journalists. Paragon responded by cutting Italy off from its surveillance products, becoming the first spyware company to ever publicly name one of its customers after the misuse of its products.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, Paragon might face a new ethical dilemma: whether or not it will allow ICE agents to use its spyware.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_70CTD024P00000012_7012_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">$2 million one-year contract<\/a> that Paragon signed in September 2024 with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remains under review and has not yet taken effect, and Paragon has so far not supplied ICE\u2019s Homeland Security Investigations with its spyware tools, the company told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has authorized ICE to carry out large-scale immigration raids across the U.S., leading to the detention of thousands of migrants \u2014 and numerous U.S. citizens \u2014 in part <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/ice-is-searching-a-massive-insurance-and-medical-bill-database-to-find-deportation-targets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">thanks to data stored in federal databases<\/a> and using <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/inside-a-powerful-database-ice-uses-to-identify-and-deport-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">technology<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/leaked-palantirs-plan-to-help-ice-deport-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">provided<\/a> by govtech giant <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/this-is-palantirs-justification-for-building-ices-master-database\/\">Palantir<\/a>. Considering ICE is poised to get <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/fact-check\/ice-budget-big-beautiful-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a significantly larger budget<\/a> following the passing of Trump\u2019s flagship Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, spyware could serve as a powerful surveillance tool in the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With two months left before the contract expires, Paragon may never supply its spyware to ICE. But until the contract runs out on September 29, the U.S. government could <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>rove it at any moment, forcing Paragon to make a decision about the use of its tools on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right now, the company doesn\u2019t want to talk about this dilemma at all. When asked by TechCrunch, Paragon would not say what it plans to do if the contract passes review, or clarify what will happen with its relationship with ICE if the contract goes forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-block block--callout block--right has-green-500-background-color\">\n<h4 class=\"block--callout__title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contact_Us\"><\/span>Contact Us<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>\t\t\tDo you have more information about Paragon? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paragon\u2019s contract with ICE has been on pause since the paperwork was signed. Homeland Security issued a near-im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te stop-work order with the goal of reviewing whether the contract complied with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2023\/03\/30\/2023-06730\/prohibition-on-use-by-the-united-states-government-of-commercial-spyware-that-poses-risks-to\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a Biden-era executive order<\/a>. The order restricts U.S. government agencies from using commercial spyware that could (or has been) abused by foreign governments to violate human rights, or to target Americans abroad.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/ice-paragon-contract-white-house-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a Biden administration official told Wired<\/a> that the U.S. government had \u201cimmediately engaged\u201d top leadership at Homeland Security, which houses ICE, to determine if the contract met the requirements of the executive order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nine months on, Paragon\u2019s contract with ICE remains in limbo, and officials in the Trump White House did not have an update on its status.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump administration spokesperson Abigail Jackson referred TechCrunch\u2019s questions to Homeland Security, and would not comment, when asked, about the Trump administration\u2019s position on the Biden-era spyware executive order, which remains in effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for Homeland Security and ICE did not provide comment when contacted by TechCrunch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spyware companies have historically been reticent to name their customers in any context, often for fear of reputational damage or risking lucrative government contracts. After WhatsApp revealed earlier this year that around 90 of its users, including journalists and human rights dissidents, had been targeted with Paragon\u2019s spyware, the company sought to distance itself from the hacks. Paragon\u2019s executive chairman John Fleming told TechCrunch then that it only sells to \u201ca select group of global democracies \u2014 principally, the United States and its allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, Paragon wanted the world to know that it would sell to responsible government customers, and its response to the Italy scandal appears to reinforce the company\u2019s position.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in calling itself an ethical spyware vendor, Paragon has put the onus on itself to judge who it deals with. In doing so, the company has also opened the door for others to scrutinize its government customers\u00a0and their ethics \u2014 whether they are the Italian government or ICE. As governments and their leaders change over time, Paragon may face the choice of having to re-evaluate who it works with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGiven this administration\u2019s record of attacks on human rights and civil society organizations, we hope that Paragon would reconsider the agreement,\u201d said Michael De Dora, the U.S. advocacy manager at Access Now, a nonprofit that has worked to expose spyware abuses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/07\/11\/can-an-ethical-spyware-maker-provide-its-tech-to-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paragon, an Israeli spyware company that claims to operate as an \u201cethical\u201d surveillance vendor, faced scrutiny when earlier this year Italy was caught using Paragon\u2019s tools to spy on the phones of two journalists. Paragon responded by cutting Italy off from its surveillance products, becoming the first spyware company to ever publicly name one of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":679671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Immigration-and-Customs-Enforcement-ICE-agents-phones.jpg?resize=1200,738","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[79806,70921,71092,137827,154985,72287,155259],"class_list":["post-679670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-analysis","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-ice","tag-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-paragon-solutions","tag-security","tag-u-s-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}