Israeli spyware firm NSO to pay WhatsApp $168 mn in damages, rules court

A US court has ordered NSO to pay Meta $168 million for exploiting a WhatsApp bug used to surveil journalists, dissidents and political targets

Tech giant Meta Platforms has won a $168 million verdict against the Israeli spyware company NSO, maker of the Pegasus spyware. The verdict brings an end to the six-year-long contest between the US’s largest social networking platform and the world’s best-known spyware company, Reuters reported.

 

WhatsApp bug exploitation at centre of Meta-NSO legal battle

 

The case pertains to exploiting a bug in the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp and selling it to clients who used it to keep a check on journalists, activists, and political dissidents. The case in California’s federal court marks the first time a spyware company has been held responsible for breaching the technical sanctity of the platforms that operate on smartphones.

 

Court orders NSO to pay $168 mn in damages to Meta

 

The federal court ruled on Tuesday (local time) that NSO owes $444,719 in compensatory damages to Meta, along with $167.3 million in punitive damages, the tech giant said.

 

In a statement, Meta said, “Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone.”

 

NSO responds to ruling, signals possible appeal

 

NSO also released a statement following the verdict and noted it would “carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal.”

 

The report, citing Natalia Krapiva, a senior lawyer with the human-rights group Access Now, stated that the Israeli spyware company first gained attention in 2016 and has now become a “poster child for the surveillance industry and their abuses and impunity.”

 

NSO defends Pegasus, despite global surveillance abuse claims

 

NSO has long defended its spyware software, stating that it is used to track terrorists and pedophiles. However, it has been implicated in abusive surveillance in several countries across the world, including Saudi Arabia, Spain, Mexico, Poland, and El Salvador.

 

WhatsApp vs NSO: Timeline of Pegasus spyware dispute

 

The legal battle between the two began in 2019, when Mark Zuckerberg-led WhatsApp found that NSO’s Pegasus had exploited a bug in the application’s audio-calling feature.

 

The vulnerability allowed Pegasus to infect over 1,400 devices worldwide without them knowing. Over the last six years, Meta shared proof that NSO spent millions of dollars every year developing the spyware. It further claimed that Pegasus did not just target Meta apps, but can also break into phones and turn on cameras and microphones in devices without the knowledge of their users.