The Biden administration has pledged to crack down on spyware companies and foreign governments that deploy it to snoop on journalists and dissidents. Officials are especially concerned about spyware from Israeli company NSO Group, which a joint investigation by The Guardian and other media groups alleged is used by the Saudi government.

But strong public pressure to bring down the price of gas by strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia, and a wish to foster peace in Israel, could force Biden to push spyware down the list of priorities.

NSO has complicated relations between the U.S. and Israel in recent months. The Commerce Department added NSO Group to its “entity list” last year, effectively blacklisting the company. The move was a major financial blow to NSO, and reportedly led to efforts by Israeli officials to pressure the Biden administration to remove NSO from the list. The White House shot down an effort by American defense group L3Harris to buy NSO, citing security and human rights concerns around the use of Pegasus.