Senate Democrats Demand Answers on US Lifting Spyware Sanctions

Five Democratic US senators are asking the Trump administration to explain its decision to lift sanctions on people the government had previously accused of helping spread sophisticated surveillance technology that’s allegedly been used against Americans.

The Treasury Department last year ended prohibitions on three people associated with the maker of “Predator” spyware, partially reversing the first US sanctions issued over the alleged misuse of a type of software that can secretly take over phones. The announcement came weeks after Google’s Threat Intelligence Group reported that the spyware-maker, known as the Intellexa Consortium, has “adapted, evaded restrictions, and continues selling digital ...