Security News > 2024 > April > US imposes visa bans on 13 spyware makers and their families
The Department of State has started imposing visa restrictions on mercenary spyware makers and peddlers, prohibiting their entry into the United States, as announced earlier in February.
The crackdown has begun with 13 individuals and their close families linked to commercial spyware operations.
Taken pursuant to Section 212(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, these visa restrictions allow the Secretary of State to exclude visa applications whose entry would have adverse foreign policy consequences for the U.S., effectively banning those linked to commercial spyware from entering the country.
"As part of the United States' efforts to counter the ongoing proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware as documented today in the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Department is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on 13 individuals who have been involved in the development and sale of commercial spyware or who are immediate family members of those involved," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
The visa restrictions are part of a broader effort to combat the rapid spread and misuse of spyware.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced this new visa restriction policy back in February, targeting misuse of commercial spyware linked to "Arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings."