Italy's Hacking Team has license to sell abroad curbed

Italian surveillance company Hacking Team says the government has revoked a global license to sell its spy software outside Europe.

Spokesman Eric Rabe on Wednesday confirmed that Hacking Team, based in Milan, had its license revoked but said it "expects to be given approvals for sales to countries outside the EU."

The daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that the company will have to seek case-by-case approvals to sell in 46 countries, many of which have been accused of human rights abuses. It said the year-old license was set to expire in two years, and that the reason given for the change was "the changing political situation" in some countries.

Hacking Team last July suffered a leak in which over 1 million emails were released, revealing some of its clients.