After the Federal Audit Court maintained the veto in January 2022in which it suspended the acquisition of the Harpia spy system by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the TCU authorized the resumption of the contract for the acquisition of the system from the ministry this Thursday (9).
The rapporteur of the case at TCU, Bruno Dantas, overturned the precautionary measure, which was provisional until the person responsible for the tool was heard and the court decided on the merits of the matter, and authorized the resumption of the contract with the adoption of some measures, including the document on the auditability and functionality of the software.
According to the Court, the Court “forwarded a letter to the contracted company with questions about the auditability and control features of the software, obtaining as a response a document in which it was demonstrated that the Harpia solution has auditable tool control mechanisms”.
The injunction that had suspended the agreement in November 2021 was overturned because “irregularities [encontradas no contrato] are curable”, according to Dantas.
Image: Harpia Tecnologia
Acquisition of the Harpia tool is also a concern
The target of the process was a tender for the portfolio created to hire the Pegasus software, from NSO Group, which ended up being suspended from the trading floor after the case was referred to the Court by the Public Ministry, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP) and organized groups in society. civil society to oppose the purchase of the spy system in August, a month after the Ministry of Justice considered acquiring surveillance tools, including Pegasus itself, in electronic trading.
Harpia software, from the eponymous company, entered the dispute after NSO Group withdrew from the bidding process last May, accused of being used against civilians, including journalistslawyers and activists and world leaders, as well as being sued by Apple in November 2021, a lawsuit that banned the Israeli spyware owner from using the brand’s products and services to develop and deploy hacks against customers.
While Pegasus has gained traction as a surveillance tool as a service, the Harpia system also raises concerns. According to experts consulted by the hugboth spy software can violate the right to privacy and impact the practice of journalism in Brazil.
In emails sent to the TCU in August, when there was a request for suspension of the Electronic Auction 3/2021, in which Pegasus was expected to be hired, a campaign called for the purchase of any espionage system that violates rights and freedoms to be barred. democratic.
“No government is authorized by its people or by the Constitution to spy on persons or organizations. This unbalances the balance of forces and gives the government unparalleled power, impossible to stop. Privacy, intimacy and telephone and telematic secrecy are guaranteed by law in Brazil, and can only be violated in very specific cases, under court order”, explained professor and researcher at the Department of Journalism at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) , Rogério Christofoletti.
