Supreme Court allows Meta to sue Israeli software company over ‘Pegasus’ spyware
Christopher Hutton
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The Supreme Court allowed Meta to continue pursuing a lawsuit alleging that an Israeli software developer illegally accessed its servers to install spyware.
The Supreme Court denied an appeal from NSO Group Technologies in which the company argued it was immune to the 2019 suit filed by Meta in the Northern District of California because it was acting on behalf of foreign governments. The suit alleges NSO violated multiple laws when it infected 1,400 WhatsApp accounts with its Pegasus spyware. The accounts affected include those of journalists and human rights activists. Meta claims that NSO violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which bans computer access without authorization.
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NSO responded to the lawsuit by arguing that it is not liable since it was working on behalf of other foreign governments and because “some WhatsApp users are violent criminals and terrorists who exploit the software’s encryption to avoid detection.”
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The Israeli spyware developer has attempted multiple times to get some immunity in U.S. courts, arguing it was necessary to protect the foreign officials it was working for. The trial judge and court of appeals both ruled against NSO.
NSO has been scrutinized for its spyware practices. While the company says it is only used to spy on criminals and illegal organizations, it has been found spying on journalists, activists, and business rivals in the past.