In a historic ruling with profound implications for the technology industry, NSO Group, the maker of internationally condemned Pegasus spyware, will pay WhatsApp more than $167 million in damages. This decision follows the government’s lawsuit to their 2019 spyware spam. After more than five years of litigation, the case began. It revealed that NSO Group had illegally hacked into the accounts of about 1,400 WhatsApp users, violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as California’s state hacking law.
The lead judge, Phyllis Hamilton, ruled that NSO Group’s behavior constituted illegal spying. In 2019, WhatsApp responded by suing NSO Group. They alleged that the company was deploying spyware to hack dissidents and other at risk targets, which posed major implications on privacy and national security. Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, underscored the significance of this ruling for tech companies and for people everywhere.
Surveillance companies in general need to be put on notice that illegal spying will be met with zero tolerance, Cathcart stated.
The jury awarded WhatsApp $167,256,000 in punitive damages and about $444,719 in compensatory damages. This substantial financial penalty reflects the severity of NSO Group’s actions and serves as a warning against similar practices in the industry.
John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab who studied NSO Group’s spyware campaign, expressed his satisfaction with the jury’s decision. He observed that NSO Group, which has made hundreds of millions from enabling authoritarian regimes to invade private lives, deserves scrutiny.
“NSO makes many millions of dollars helping dictators hack people,” Scott-Railton said. “After years of every trick and delay tactic, it only took the jury a day’s deliberation to see right through to the heart of the matter: NSO’s business is based on hacking American companies…so that dictators can hack dissidents.
The lawsuit highlighted that NSO Group’s customers include governments from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan, known for their controversial human rights records. The NSO Group’s spyware was used to specifically target people who spoke out against these corrupt regimes. This leads us to troubling ethical issues around the use of surveillance technology.
In light of the ruling Attorney Zade Alsawah, who grew up near the dumpsite and worked on the case, was optimistic. He called it an unprecedented step in the battle against unlawful spyware.
“Our court case has made history as the first victory against illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone,” Alsawah stated. “Today, the jury’s decision to force NSO, a notorious foreign spyware merchant, to pay damages is a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve.”
NSO Group is likely to appeal after this decision. Of course, the social media company is facing heightened criticism for its overall business practices. The world is asking how its technology is advancing or harming global privacy rights. This case represents an important inflection point. This ultimately helps ensure that technology companies are held accountable for their actions and how those actions affect individual privacy.
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