The capabilities of modern surveillance software allow for the monitoring and tracking of people on a mass and automated scale. Recent trends include “zero click” technology that allows spyware to be downloaded onto a device without the need for the victim to click on a link, and then provides unfettered access to the device’s camera, microphone, and other personal data. This unprecedented level of intrusion has been condemned as a breach of fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression and privacy. Currently, there is little transparency regarding the development and acquisition of these technologies. Studies show that technology companies developing surveillance software are just as likely to sell this software to autocratic states and criminals as they are to democratic governments. This is a concern as authoritarian regimes frequently claim that journalists, dissidents and human rights activists are criminals or a national security threat to justify subjecting them to intrusive surveillance. Where civil society groups are targeted and intimidated by spyware, it reduces their capacity to hold governments to account and investigate cases of corruption, and it can lower political participation and undermines democracy.