Circles Sold Phone Spy Tools to Repressive States, Report Says

Circles Sold Phone Spy Tools to Repressive States, Report Says A Bulgaria-based company sold controversial surveillance technology to governments in countries with records of repression, enabling authorities to track mobile phones and eavesdrop on private communications, according to documents obtained by Human Rights Watch. The surveillance firm Circles offered tools capable of spying on phone calls, messages and internet activity, according to a Human Rights Watch report published Thursday. The documents — a trove of Bulgarian export records covering sales by Circles between 2018 and 2023 — show that the Bulgarian government approved Circles transactions with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.