We have nothing to fear but the spy in our pockets

In these scary times, it is so reassuring to see the Guardian and 16 other international media outlets coming to our rescue as sitting ducks with spies in our pockets (Pegasus project, 23 and 30 July).

As Edward Snowden reminded us years ago, the Orwellian assertion (also attributed to Goebbels) that if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear, is the same as saying: “I don’t care about free speech because I have nothing to say.”

I was also delighted to see Amnesty International taking a proactive – as opposed to its usual reactive – role in this crucial operation to protect our privacy, our freedom and even, for some of us, our very lives. Gregory Rosenstock Epsom, England, UK

• The NSO Group absolves itself of any responsibility if government clients use its software against activists and dissidents, rather than criminal or terrorist elements. Perhaps nuclear weapons should also be freely allowed for sale? The analogous reasoning would be that people using these would ultimately be the cause of any resultant deaths, not the nuclear arms by themselves.

Jim Gomez

Whitby, Ontario, Canada