Meta disables seven spy companies, including India's BellTroX

Firm is sending alerts to almost 50,000 individuals in over 100 countries

Meta (formerly Facebook) on Friday said it has disabled seven 'surveillance-for-hire' entities — including one from India -- which targeted 50,000 individuals, such as politicians, election officials, human rights activists, and celebrities in over 100 countries on behalf of their clients.

The company’s fight with the spy firms comes amid a wider move by American tech companies, US lawmakers, and President Joe Biden’s administration against purveyors of digital espionage services, notably the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, which was blacklisted earlier this month following weeks of revelations about how its technology was being deployed against civil society.

Surveillance-for-hire companies target people