White House Executive Order on Spyware

[mattwein]

The White House today released an Executive Order titled "Prohibition on Use by the United States Government of Commercial Spyware that Poses Risks to National Security." The Order is the first of its kind on this topic and seems to end the possibility that the U.S. might be an outsize customer in the market given all of the stipulations. There is a lot more detail in the EO, so take a look here and feel free to leave your thoughts.

[dmr]

Well, the definitions, as written, might include such things as the common usual suspect social media apps.

[mattwein]

I'm not quite sure I'd go that far, be much does seem to hinge on the Director of National Intelligence's assessment about foreign spyware. The EO only requires a classified assessment so I wonder if Congress might step in to push for an unclass version or require an unclass version in upcoming legislation.