Pegasus Project: Re-Questioning the Legality of the Cyber-Surveillance Mechanism

Abstract

States have recently indulged in purchasing surveillance spyware such as Pegasus from big corporations such as the NSO Group to track the activities of its people to curb dissidents. Unfortunately, such incidences are not new in the international domain. Thus, it is imperative to analyze the legality of such spyware used by the states with the assistance of foreign corporates under the international framework. In view of the same, the paper while majorly focusing on the significance of right to privacy, traces the standing limitations in the legal mechanism and tries to propose a shared responsibility regime for states and surveillance companies indulging in human rights violations by drawing parallels with the ICoCA mechanism.