European Investment Fund (EIF) provided funds for the Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions through an Israeli venture capital fund.
Paragon was used by Italian authorities to spy on journalists, humanitarian workers and business executives, in what is known as the Paragon scandal. Crucially, EIF belongs to the European Investment Bank (EIB), a financial institution owned by the EU member states.
In just the past week, France has banned its public officials from using American technology, more governments are considering keeping young people off Silicon Valley’s biggest social media platforms, and UpScrolled saw a surge in users over censorship fears on TikTok in the U.S. All of these moves point to a growing unease with U.S. tech firms and tech policy.