House committee seeks answers on spyware

The House Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications and Public Participation has called on police and other public agencies to clarify the use of state surveillance in Thailand.

The request comes days after Apple issued a threat notification about “mercenary spyware” to selected iPhone users in dozens of countries. Some opposition figures and activists in Thailand were reported to have received the message.

Committee chair Phakamon Nunanan, a People’s Party MP, said on Thursday that 100 million baht had been allocated in the 2027 fiscal budget for the procurement of Pegasus spyware and related surveillance tools.

Another committee member said Pegasus was not the only surveillance tool used by state agencies, citing Circles, reportedly acquired by three agencies: the Army Intelligence Department, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

The member said these agencies had procured Circles between 2014 and 2020, with a combined budget of 61.4 million baht. In addition, 10 procurement projects involving mobile phone location-tracking equipment were identified, with a combined value of 227 million baht.

Wattanakorn Sannui, the head of Human Rights Protection Group 2 at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), told the committee that the commission had received complaints in 2021 from several individuals alleging violations of their right to privacy.

Among those affected were activists and academics, including political scientist Puangthong Pawakapan, who received notifications from Apple that their iPhones had been targeted by state-sponsored attacks.

Ms Phakamon proposed that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society work with international academic institutions, including Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, to investigate potential spyware attacks and ensure the safety of citizens’ information.

Pegasus customers

Israeli-made Pegasus spyware is sold exclusively to government agencies, law enforcement bodies, and national intelligence services.

Its use in Thailand first came to public attention in July 2022, when researchers reported that dozens of Thai democracy activists had been targeted during the height of anti-government protests.

The report by Citizen Lab, in partnership with the Thai groups iLaw and DigitalReach, identified 30 activists, academics, lawyers and NGO workers whose mobile devices were affected from October 2020 to November 2021.

The police have repeatedly denied that they or any other law enforcement agencies have purchased or used Pegasus to monitor activists or political targets.

Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, then minister of Digital Economy and Society, admitted in parliament in July 2022 that the country used surveillance software to track individuals in “limited cases” involving national security or drugs.

He did not specify which government agency used such software, whether Pegasus was used, or which individuals were targeted.