France, Dec. 3 -- Eighty-six NGOs and experts have called on European Union foreign ministersto sanction the Israeli technology firm theNSO Group and ban the sale and use of its spyware Pegasus.

In an open letter published on 3 December and addressed to EUforeign ministers, the NGOs and experts demanded the European Commission follow the example of the United States, which on 3 November blacklisted the NSO Group for "engaging in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States".

In Julya consortium of media outletsrevealed that the Pegasus spyware was used extensively by several governments to spy on lawyers, journalists, political opponents and human rights activists.

Several victi...