European lawmaker Sophie in ‘t Veld, who is a member of the Pegasus inquiry committee, told Haaretz: “If just one company has 14 member states for customers, you can imagine how big the sector is overall. There seems to be a huge market for commercial spyware, and EU governments are very eager buyers. But they are very quiet about it, keeping it from the public eye.”

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“We know spyware is being developed in several EU countries. Not least Italy, Germany and France,” in ‘t Veld said. “Even if they use it for legitimate purposes, they have no appetite for more transparency, oversight and safeguards. Secret services have got their own universe, where normal laws don’t apply. To an extent, that has always been the case, but in the digital era they have become all-powerful, and practically invisible and totally elusive.”