The Italian journalists’ union Fnsi and the journalists’ guild OdG have filed a criminal complaint with the State Attorney’s Office in Rome. They are demanding an investigation into the alleged spying on at least one journalist using Paragon Solutions’ military-grade Graphite hacking software.
“We are dealing with facts that are not only violating the criminal code but the Constitution itself: the press is free,” said Fnsi Secretary General Alessandra Costante.
OdG President Carlo Bartoli described the complaint as “an extraordinary act of which we perceive the gravity, but it wasn’t possible to wait longer: if the government does not clarify this point, we can only appeal to the judiciary.”
On Tuesday, Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano informed Lower House Speaker Lorenzo Fontana in a letter that the government had already disclosed all declassified information about the Israeli firm Paragon Solutions’ hacking software. The letter stated that Parliament’s COPASIR security committee had discussed the Paragon case and that Minister for Relations with Parliament Luca Ciriani had shared “the only information that could be divulged to the public” during a Lower House question time session on February 12.
Every other detail of the case remains classified and can only be discussed within COPASIR, the letter added.
Last week, Ciriani denied reports that Paragon Solutions had ended its client relationship with Italy following allegations of illegal surveillance of journalists and activists. Intelligence sources later told ANSA that Italy’s intelligence agencies and Paragon Solutions had agreed to suspend the system until a due diligence process by COPASIR and the National Agency for Cybersecurity is completed.
Alleged victims of spyware scandal
Among the alleged victims of the spyware scandal in Italy are Luca Casarini, founder and operations chief of migrant-rescue NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, and Francesco Cancellato, editor-in-chief of the investigative news outlet Fanpage.
OdG President Bartoli noted that “very few subjects have access” to the spyware, leaving key journalistic questions unanswered: “the who and why.” He insisted, “they must come out.”
Fnsi President Vittorio di Trapani stated that “we know that at least one journalist was spied on” and that this information came not from authorities but from WhatsApp security notifications. He pointed out that Paragon’s software is exclusively used by state entities, meaning that either the Italian or a foreign state was involved. “Despite initial denials, the suspension of the contract between Paragon and the Italian government provides a piece of evidence,” he added, stressing that there was no known judicial authorization for such espionage.
The Fnsi and OdG have urged all journalists to report any notifications of phone targeting so they can be included in the complaint.
Government denies spying by penitentiary police
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio denied on Wednesday that anyone had been spied on by Italy’s penitentiary police using Paragon spyware in 2023. “I can assure you that no contract has ever been stipulated by the DAP (prison authority) or by its dependent general directorates with any private company,” he told the House during Question Time.
“Wiretaps are only done with judicial authorization. No person has ever been wiretapped by structures financed by the Ministry of Justice in 2024, and no one has ever been wiretapped by the penitentiary police.”
