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US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware

Published

1 month ago

August 14, 2026

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The FBI has been using hacking techniques and tools, such as spyware, since at least 1998, but to date there is no public data counting how often the feds were deploying them. That’s about to change — at least for the use of spyware for tapping into someone’s real-time communications.

Starting in 2029, U.S. judiciary will publicly disclose precisely how many times judges authorized the use of wiretaps to be carried out with hacking tools and spyware, which fall under the category of what the feds call network investigating techniques, or NITs.

For almost two decades, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which coordinates operations across the judiciary, has issued annual Wiretap Reports. These reports detail how many wiretaps were authorized every year, breaking the numbers down by whether federal or state judges ordered them, in which states the wiretaps were conducted, what type of crime was investigated, and other data.

Wiretaps allow police to gain real-time access to people’s calls, messages, and other communications. Given how invasive wiretaps can be to a person’s privacy, law enforcement have to present a high bar of evidence that a crime is being committed before a judge will authorize the use of a live tap. As such, wiretaps are generally issued in far fewer numbers than search warrants, but can still sweep up a large amount of people’s communications. Years ago, for example, one wiretap allowed a massive surveillance operation that collected millions of text messages over the course of three months.

The annual wiretap reports break down the type of wiretaps authorized during the year: from audio wiretaps that can collect real-time voice from phone calls; oral taps that rely on using real-world microphones and other eavesdropping techniques; and, the electronic tapping of text messages, emails, and other messages as they pass through a provider’s network.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told Democratic senator Ron Wyden this week that it will begin tracking the new “spyware/hacking” surveillance category starting in the 2028 Wiretap Report, which will be published the following year.

A spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirmed the change in an email to TechCrunch: “The Wiretap Report is compiled from individual forms submitted from throughout the country and throughout the year. Before the new data can appear in the annual report, reporting forms and procedures need to be updated to accommodate the new categories,” the spokesperson said.

It’s important to note that this statistic will only reveal when authorities have used spyware to intercept communications, such as Signal and WhatsApp calls and messages, and not when they use tools to remotely hack into a phone and extract data stored inside of it, such as images, files, and their location. The first is a wiretap, and the latter is a search, which is an altogether different kind of legal process and not relevant here.

Wyden, who has criticized “the unnecessary secrecy around electronic surveillance orders” and has called for this kind of data to be published since 2017, celebrated the change.

“The American people remain largely in the dark about the different ways that the government is spying on them,” Wyden said in a statement to TechCrunch. “I am thankful that the federal courts agreed to collect and publish data about hacking, but Congress must go further and pass my Government Surveillance Transparency Act,” a draft bill that Wyden and others reintroduced earlier this year.

Getting this kind of transparency, according to privacy experts, is a huge win.

“Up until now, we have only been able to guess at the size of the problem,” said Eva Galperin, the director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and an expert on government spyware.

Galperin said that once these statistics become public, it will help hold the U.S. government accountable when there are abusive uses of spyware, as it will be harder for the authorities to deny that the tools were used.

“Being able to point to a report saying that spyware was used X number of times will help with accountability, especially if it turns out that number is quite high,” Galperin added. “It’s hard to say that you’re using spyware as a surgical tool when you’ve deployed it tens of thousands of times.”

Brett Max Kaufman, a senior counsel in the American Civil Liberties Union’s Center for Democracy, said the change is “an important and long-overdue step forward for transparency around government hacking and should lead to better-informed policy and law around these issues going forward.”

Other countries, such as Italy, already publish detailed data on the use of spyware. For example, in 2023, spyware was used against 4,321 targets in the country, according to publicly available data.

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Desmond Elliot kneels before Gbajabiamila, apologises over APC primary fallout

Published

37 minutes ago

September 14, 2026

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Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot, has apologised to the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, over his conduct during the last All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in Lagos.

Elliot was seen in a video circulating on social media kneeling before Gbajabiamila and asking for forgiveness, while also appealing to be accepted back into the APC fold in Lagos.

“I’m sorry, I have no excuse. I have nothing other than to say I’m deeply sorry, and I am hoping to be cultured in the future,” Elliot said.

His apology followed a disagreement with the party leadership over the APC primary conducted in May to select its candidate for the Surulere Constituency I seat.

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VIDEO: I Travelled Alone as Governor to Cut Costs — Obi

Published

52 minutes ago

September 14, 2026

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The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has revealed how he reduced the cost of governance while serving as governor of Anambra State.

According to the politician, he deliberately avoided unnecessary spending and travelled without the large entourage usually associated with public officials.

Obi disclosed this on Monday while speaking in Washington, D.C., United States, where he discussed measures he adopted to reduce government expenditure during his tenure as governor.

The former Anambra State governor said he rejected inflated budgets for the renovation of his official facilities, explaining that projects were completed for significantly less than the amounts originally provided for in the budget.

“When I was governor, the budget for refurbishing my office was ₦298 million, but I did everything with ₦48 million. There was also a budget of ₦486 million to refurbish my house, but I completed everything with ₦81 million,” Obi said.

He also spoke about the cost associated with official travels, saying he refused to travel with the number of people that could ordinarily accompany a governor on official trips.

“As a governor, you are supposed to travel with 30 people to several places. Over the years I was governor, I didn’t use 16 percent of my travel allowance because I wasn’t travelling with anybody. I was the only person invited; nobody invited them,” he said.

The NDC candidate has repeatedly argued that Nigeria’s limited resources should be directed towards productive sectors capable of improving the living conditions of citizens.

The former governor recently travelled to Germany and the United Kingdom for a series of engagements focused on issues including democracy, electoral integrity, poverty, education, corruption and healthcare.

Obi disclosed the European trip in a statement on his social media platforms after returning to Abuja from visits to Benue and Plateau states.

“After returning to Abuja on 8th September 2026, following our visits to Benue and Plateau States, I travelled to Europe, first to Germany and then to the United Kingdom,” he stated.

According to Obi, his discussions with international partners centred on practical steps that could contribute to Nigeria’s development, with particular attention to education.

He said he was encouraged by the willingness of international partners to support Nigeria, especially in the education sector.

Obi described education as the most important investment Nigeria could make in its citizens, stressing that sustainable national development would remain difficult without building the knowledge, skills and capabilities of the country’s people.

He also renewed his call for a change in the direction of Nigeria’s economy, urging the country to move away from excessive consumption and dependence.

“We must intentionally transition Nigeria from consumption to production, from dependence to productivity, from wasteful practices to responsible resource management, and from division to a common national purpose,” he said.

The NDC presidential candidate said his broader objective was to build a country where children would have access to quality education, democracy would reflect the wishes of voters, healthcare would be accessible and public resources would be managed responsibly.

He added that every Nigerian should have a fair opportunity to live a dignified and productive life.

Obi’s latest engagements come as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, with major presidential contenders increasingly stepping up consultations and engagements within and outside Nigeria.

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has also travelled to the United States and Canada as part of a North American tour connected to his 2027 campaign.

The AAC said Sowore’s absence from Nigeria would not affect the #Sowore2027 campaign, maintaining that its activities would continue to focus on what it described as revolutionary transformation, equal rights and justice.

President Bola Tinubu has also travelled to Europe, with the Presidency saying the President departed Abuja for a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.

His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu’s first destination was London, United Kingdom, and that he would return to Nigeria at the end of the working vacation.

The political movements are taking place against the backdrop of preparations for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the official campaign period on August 19, while the elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027.