CITIZEN Lab director Ron Deibert used SecTor 2026 to issue a blunt warning about the rise of commercial spyware and pervasive surveillance, arguing that the Trump administration and allied tech leaders are advancing an authoritarian, “techno-fascist” agenda. In his keynote, Deibert traced a decade of investigated spyware cases, noting high-profile abuses such as NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware being used in contexts tied to human rights concerns, including the family of Jamal Khashoggi.
He criticised both foreign and domestic actors for expanding surveillance capabilities, with particular emphasis on the United States’ expanding use of AI tools to disseminate what he called “slopoganda” and to pressure democratic dissent.
The discussion also touched on US policy shifts around commercial spyware and AI-enabled influence operations. Deibert highlighted sanctions against spyware makers such as Intellexa in 2024 as a favourable precedent, while suggesting the Trump era could see a retreat from those controls. He flagged connections between the Trump circle and spyware firms, including Palantir’s Alex Karp promoting government surveillance, and cited domestic moves such as ICE reactivating a contract with Paragon Solutions.
Deibert’s broader point was that AI-enabled disinformation and private sector disinformation outfits are amplifying threats to civil society, immigrants and activists, with a slide titled “Techno-Fascism” featuring tech leaders including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen. The report notes these themes alongside ongoing debates about how much surveillance a democratic society should tolerate and under what safeguards.