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Citizen Lab Slams Trump Administration, 'Techno-Fascist' Executives

Darkreading •Rob Wright • October 7, 2026

The Citizen Lab's Ron Deibert warns the US government is pushing for pervasive surveillance and says certain technology executives are all too happy to help.

SecTor 2026 – Toronto — Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert had a stern warning for the world the rise of commercial spyware and surveillance, and how the US government and technology companies are driving it.

During his keynote address at the SecTor 2026 conference, Deibert opined that the Trump administration and the technology leaders that have allied themselves with the US president are pushing an authoritarian agenda and "techno-fascism" movement.

"I've been studying authoritarianism my entire life. Political science is my area of expertise. And what is going on in the United States ticks every single box," he told the audience.

Deibert spent much of his time outlining the various commercial spyware cases that Citizen Lab researchers have investigated and uncovered over the past decade. These include the infamous use of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware against friends and family members of Jamal Khashoggi , the Washington Post journalist and political dissident who was murdered in 2018 by agents allegedly working on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government.

Related: Need for Speed: AI-Driven Attacks Are Changing Security Strategies

He criticized many foreign governments for documented abuse of spyware technology against human rights activists, journalists, and dissidents, from Italy to the United Arab Emirates. But Deibert reserved his most scathing critiques for Canada's neighbor to the south, highlighting what he described as "the precipitous descent into authoritarianism in the United States" as the government expands a broad surveillance net over the country and uses AI technology to spread what he calls "slopoganda."

Trump Administration Warming to Spyware Firms?

Deibert noted some of the progress made by the US government against commercial spyware firms in recent years. These include the 2024 sanctions from the Biden administration against spyware company Intellexa and many of its executives. But Deibert suggested that those achievements may be a thing of the past under President Trump, which other spyware opponents have also expressed concern this year.

First, Deibert said President Trump has "ingratiated himself and propped up a lot of the world's oligarchs, dictators and autocrats that he seems to have a fascination with," while also ending US government support and foreign aid for global civil society organizations.

But Deibert said he's more concerned what's happening domestically in the US. "Notice how most of the big American tech platforms have actually sidled up to Donald Trump," he said, highlighting how former Apple CEO Tim Cook gave an expensive gold plaque to Trump last year.

Related: Trump, Tech Giants Strike Voluntary AI Safety Accord

And many of the tech leaders, he argued, are propagating some "pretty disturbing things" how their technology should be used by the government. Deibert singled out Alex Karp, CEO of AI analytics firm Palantir, who has his company's involvement with expansive government surveillance as well as use of its AI in military strikes abroad.

"These are people who are holding explicitly anti-democratic views, that are talking fascism in ways that they find desirable," he said during his presentation, which included a slide titled "Techno-Fascism" that featured photos of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Deibert argued these companies are supporting an oppressive surveillance state and the use of technology that Citizen Lab has investigated for years to not only support what he called "a really brutal mass deportation regime" but to crack down on democratic dissent.

Additionally, Deibert noted internecine ties between President Trump's inner circle and the spyware community: NSO Group , for instance, after being acquired by a group of US investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds, appointed David Friedman, President Trump's former bankruptcy attorney and former US ambassador to Israel, as its executive chairman.

Related: Nvidia Launches AI Agent Safety Platform to Prevent Rogue Activities

"We know they're lobbying furiously to get off the sanctions list," he said.

Deibert also noted that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reactivated its contract with Paragon Solutions earlier this year; the contract was previously paused by former President Biden amid a crackdown on commercial spyware use within the US government.

Government Use of AI & 'Slopoganda'

Unfortunately, spyware and mass surveillance aren't the only things the Trump administration is embracing, Deibert warned. He also called out the president for his penchant for posting AI-generated videos and deepfakes , which may seem to some like harmless attempts are humor but he said point to something more insidious.

"This is straight out of the authoritarian playbook," Deibert said, referring the mocking of critics and demeaning public discourse.

And AI is also being used to push disinformation and "slopoganda." Much like with the commercial spyware industry, Deibert said, Citizen Lab is now seeing former intelligence and military personnel creating private companies that specialize in disinformation and influence operations.

"All of the threats that the Citizen Lab has investigated for the last 25 years are suddenly now being super-charged thanks to AI," he said, and many of those attacks are directed at civil society organizations and vulnerable groups like immigrants, refugees, and political activists.

"There's so much AI B.S. out there now that it's not a surprise that [the Trump administration] is leveraging it," one SecTor attendee, who requested anonymity, tells Dark Reading. "It's so easy now to generate slop and confuse or mislead people."

Oct 6, 2026 TO Oct 8, 2026

Metro Toronto Convention Centre | Toronto

Now in its 20th year, SecTor has built a reputation of bringing together experts from around the world to their latest research and techniques involving underground threats and corporate defences. The conference provides an unmatched opportunity for IT Security Professionals, Managers & Executives to connect with their peers and learn from their mentors.

Senior News Director, Dark Reading

Rob Wright is a longtime reporter with more than 25 years of experience as a technology journalist. Prior to joining Dark Reading as senior news director, he spent more than a decade at TechTarget's SearchSecurity in various roles, including senior news director, executive editor and editorial director. Before that, he worked for several years at CRN, Tom's Hardware Guide, and VARBusiness Magazine covering a variety of technology beats and trends.

Prior to becoming a technology journalist in 2000, he worked as a weekly and daily newspaper reporter in Virginia, where he won three Virginia Press Association awards in 1998 and 1999. At TechTarget and Dark Reading, he has won several Azbee awards, including the 2026 National Silver Award for a series on vibe coding.

At Dark Reading, Rob currently covers security operations, cloud security, and Internet infrastructure. He has a keen interest in malvertising activity and the certificate authority industry, and has written extensively on both topics. He graduated from the University of Richmond in 1997 with a degree in journalism and English. A native of Massachusetts, he lives in the Boston area.

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Citizen Lab Warns of US Techno-Fascism and Surveillance Expansion Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert issued a warning about the rise of commercial spyware and surveillance, attributing significant responsibility to the US government and technology companies. Speaking at the SecTor 2026 conference, he described the current US administration's actions as part of a 'techno-fascism' movement, highlighting the use of spyware like NSO Group's Pegasus against journalists and dissidents. Deibert criticized the Trump administration for potentially reversing progress made against spyware firms and aligning with authoritarian leaders. He expressed concerns about the expansion of surveillance and the use of AI for disinformation, termed 'slopoganda.' The situation poses risks to civil society and vulnerable groups, with Deibert noting the troubling ties between tech executives and the Trump administration. 2 sources 43

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Citizen Lab Slams Trump Administration, 'Techno-Fascist' Executives

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