Italy severs links with Paragon spyware after allegations of targeting critics and migrant rescuers spark outrage.
Italy has terminated its contracts with Israeli spyware company Paragon, after revelations that the surveillance technology was used against critics of the government – including journalists and migrant rescue workers – prompted political uproar and calls for a full investigation.
The move was confirmed in a parliamentary report released on Monday by the intelligence oversight committee COPASIR, which found that Italy’s intelligence services had initially paused, then cancelled their use of Paragon’s spyware.
The timeline of the contract’s end remains unclear, especially since Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government had told parliament in February that the deal was still active.
Both the Italian government and Paragon confirmed the termination, but offered diverging narratives.
The controversy has provoked condemnation from opposition parties and media freedom advocates. Italy’s journalists’ union, FNSI, urged prosecutors to determine whether state surveillance laws were broken.
Paragon’s software was allegedly used to target individuals in Italy, including a journalist and members of the migrant rescue organisation Mediterranea, which has frequently criticised Meloni’s right-wing government.
Meta-owned WhatsApp revealed in January that the spyware had been deployed against dozens of users globally — including some in Italy.
Italian government denies illegality
The government has admitted that seven Italians were targeted, but maintains that any surveillance was lawful and overseen by a public prosecutor. It denied engaging in illicit spying and said it had tasked the National Cybersecurity Agency with reviewing the matter.
One of those allegedly targeted, Francesco Cancellato, editor of investigative outlet Fanpage, had claimed to the Reuters news agency and others that he was placed under surveillance.
But COPASIR said it found no evidence supporting the claim. Paragon, in a statement to Fanpage, said it halted services to Italy once Cancellato’s case came to light and claimed the Italian government refused a joint probe into the matter.
Meloni’s office has declined to comment. Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are demanding that the government explain its role in parliament.
The report also revealed that Italy’s intelligence services had authorised the use of Paragon’s spyware in 2023 and 2024 to monitor a small number of individuals in connection with criminal investigations, including suspected “terrorism”, people smuggling and espionage.
COPASIR defended the surveillance of Mediterranea members Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia, saying it was not due to their activism but their suspected links to irregular migration. The spyware’s use on them was approved by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, Meloni’s top intelligence adviser, on September 5, 2024.
Mantovano did not respond to requests for comment.
Last month, a Sicilian court ordered Casarini, Caccia and four others to stand trial for allegedly aiding irregular immigration – a case widely seen as a test of Italy’s approach to migrant rescues. All deny the charges.
