Bulgaria Allowed Surveillance Tech Firm to Sell Products to Repressive Regimes, Report Says

Human Rights Watch obtained Bulgarian export licensing records (2018–2023) showing that the Israeli surveillance firm Circles was allowed to sell SS7-based monitoring capabilities to law enforcement and intelligence agencies in multiple countries with documented human rights abuses. The report outlines Circles' ability to track phones and intercept calls/SMS without device compromise, alleges insufficient Bulgarian export review and potential circumvention of stricter EU controls, and calls for independent reviews, EU investigations, and greater oversight of commercial surveillance exports.