The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by NSO Group to block a WhatsApp lawsuit that accused the Israeli tech firm of allowing mass cyber-spying on journalists and human rights activists. .
The Supreme Court rejected NSO’s request for statutory immunity and ruled that the lawsuit, which targets the company’s Pegasus software, can continue in federal court in California, a court filing shows.
Pegasus gives its government users – which reportedly include Mexico, Hungary, Morocco and India – almost complete access to the target device, including their personal data, photos, messages and location.
“We are grateful to see the Supreme Court reject NSO’s meritless petition,” said WhatsApp spokesperson Carl Vog.
“We strongly believe that their actions violate US law and that they should be held accountable for their illegal actions.”
Meta-owned messaging service WhatsApp sued the Israeli technology firm in 2019, accusing it of targeting about 1,400 devices with spyware to steal information about people using the app.
“NSO’s spyware has enabled cyber attacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials,” said Vogue.
NSO’s Pegasus software was described in court filings as “enabling law enforcement and intelligence agencies to remotely and covertly obtain valuable intelligence from any mobile device.”
WhatsApp’s lawsuit said Pegasus was installed remotely to hijack devices using the Android, iOS and BlackBerry operating systems.
NSO argued that it only markets Pegasus to governments and has offered authorities a way to conduct legal criminal investigations into WhatsApp’s encrypted messaging service.
An NSO spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry, “META has limited the ability of law enforcement agencies to legally investigate the use of WhatsApp for serious crimes and acts of terrorism.” has stopped.”
“We are confident that the court will determine that the use of Pegasus by its users was legal.”
The NSO also told the Supreme Court that many nations, including the United States, rely on private contractors, and the question of when these firms can receive immunity from prosecution.
Apple also filed a lawsuit against NSO in 2021, accusing the Israeli firm of targeting iPhones.
The Apple suit comes shortly after revelations that tens of thousands of activists, journalists and politicians were listed as potential targets for the firm’s Pegasus spyware.
