US draft guidance on exports of surveillance kit

The US Department of State has issued draft guidance for the export of hardware, software and technology with surveillance capabilities. This includes a checklist of due diligence considerations, red flags, and resources to assess the human rights records, laws and practices of the government end-user of the exports.

The guidance encourages exporters to provide human rights safeguards in contracts, and should include protections for the exporter, including: “export compliance clauses requiring end-users to comply with US export controls”; “limitations on how an item can / cannot be used”; and to “reserve the exporter’s right to terminate access to technology […] if the exporter uncovers (in its sole discretion) evidence that the technology is being misused”.