The long-overdue update to the export controls of dual-use items was finally approved by the European Parliament in January. When implemented, the new measures will create extra checks before European companies that export cyber surveillance technologies to authoritarian regimes get a green light.   

Some critics have argued that the new measures are impossible to implement. But this is not the first time EU legislation has prohibited trade in items that are used to violate human rights. The EU recently updated its legislation to restrict the trade in tools used for torture and applying the death penalty.

Similarly, the EU banned the import of minerals from conflict zones, to prevent a trade that finances and prolongs human rights abuses. Many companies already have hundreds of compliance officers employed to ensure they export within the framework of laws.

We made the updated controls as targeted as possible, and sought to avoid any unintended negative security consequences. That is why the European Parliament amended the definition of cyber surveillance items to be covered by the regulation...

The goal of this reform process is simple: to strengthen the protection of people’s rights, also online...