Vas Panagiotopoulos

Vas Panagiotopoulos is a journalist who regularly contributes to WIRED, covering the lobbying efforts of spyware companies in the U.S. and Europe, as well as topics such as biometric surveillance and CSAM regulation. His work has also appeared in Politico, Quartz, Vice, the European Journalism Observatory, and Open Democracy, among others.

In October 2024, he broke the story about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's $2 million contract with spyware vendor Paragon Solutions. His reporting prompted the Biden administration to pause the award and subject it to a compliance review under Executive Order 14093, which restricts the government’s use of spyware.

Since 2017, Vas has served as the Greece correspondent for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), advocating for spyware victims, including journalists, and co-developing RSF's surveillance policy proposals for the Greek government. Vas also has advised members of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee on issues relating to spyware and Greece.

In addition to his work with RSF, Vas is a researcher at Deakin University in Australia, specialising in the commercial spyware industry and its influence on political systems.

With over seven years of experience in EU public policy, he is a former assistant to a Member of the European Parliament and previously worked as a public affairs consultant.

Vas is a frequent public speaker, having been interviewed on BBC Radio, Apple News Today, and German public broadcaster ARD. He has also delivered presentations at institutions such as ESCP Business School and CLEMI (part of the French Ministry of Education), among others.

He is a member of the UK’s National Union of Journalists and the Foreign Press Association of Greece.