A type of spyware, supposedly restricted to use by law-enforcement agencies, was found on the smartphones of three prominent proponents of the 10-percent excise tax on soda and other sugary beverages adopted by Mexico in 2014, says the New York Times. The spyware piggybacked its way onto phones with harassing messages to the men, one of whom is director of nutrition policy at Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health.
The Times says the spyware was developed by NSO Group, “an Israeli cyberarms dealer that sells its digital spy tools exclusively to governments and that has contacts with multiple agencies inside Mexico, according to company emails” obtained by the newspaper. “It is not clear why any Mexican government agency would deploy the spyware to track those on the front lines of the fight to battle obesity in Mexico — where diabetes was recently declared a national emergency — nor is it clear which Mexican government agency could be behind the surveillance,” said the Times, noting questions about soda-industry influence. A privacy advocate told the Times, “This is proof that surveillance in Mexico is out of control.”
The spyware-laced messages were sent to the three men shortly after health researchers and activists planned a media campaign in favor of doubling the soda tax. The proposal stalled in the Mexican Congress last November.