Ronan Farrow Says Undercover Surveillance Was ‘Emotionally Devastating’ Experience

Ronan Farrow is responsible for much of the reporting that ultimately led to Harvey Weinstein’s conviction on sexual assault and rape charges in 2020.

Weinstein launched a concerted effort to track and surveil Farrow after the journalist began his investigation in 2017. In an interview published in the Guardian on Saturday, Farrow described the surveillance as “emotionally devastating and intrusive”.

Weinstein’s surveillance of Farrow is the subject of HBO’s new one-hour documentary “Surveilled.” Directed by Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, the documentary takes viewers through a complex web of traditional surveillance techniques and modern commercial spyware; A combination of tactics employed by Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube at Weinstein’s request.

The film also serves as a visual complement to Farrow’s 2022 film. The New Yorker report about how democratic countries use the same tools to monitor and spy on their citizens. Its main focus is Pegasus, one of the most powerful spyware ever created and a product of the Israeli NSO Group.

Pegasus often breaks into personal devices through third-party applications and can assume full control of microphones, cameras and examine your data. The Guardian stated that “it is very possible, and now documented, to be attacked by Pegasus and not know it.”

In “Under Watching,” Farrow traces Pegasus’ origins to his birthplace, Tel Aviv; “here NSO executives toe the party line that the group sells out to governments solely for law enforcement purposes and has no knowledge of its abuses.” He also visits Silicon Valley, Canada and Barcelona.

While NSO Group has repeatedly claimed that it was unaware of the various ways Pegasus was being used against groups of people, including the Catalans, rivals of the Greek prime minister, and Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, Farrow tells the outlet: “Data activists and watchdog groups have argued that, watch this, the data has no knowledge of the company’s infrastructure.” See it progress in a way that it’s going to be pretty hard to have (the abuse).

Countries and individuals who choose to use Pegasus ultimately determine who they monitor, the Guardian notes, and the company’s “surveillance tentacles beyond the scope of counterterrorism, Israel’s long-standing use of Palestine as a surveillance laboratory, as well as the need for greater transparency” “reveals.”

“These companies need to be subject to the same kinds of international regulations and legal infrastructure as arms dealers,” Farrow said. “This is the truth. It’s a dangerous technology. It threatens democracy and freedom. It leads to violence. Now the data tells us this. “That doesn’t mean law enforcement isn’t used for this, which makes it very similar to weapons of mass destruction.”

You can read the full interview with Ronan Farrow in Guardian.