The court just handed WhatsApp a major win in the case against NSO Group ⚖️ 🎉
NSO was found liable under federal #CFAA & state law for #Pegasus hacking through WhatsApp's servers.
As a lawyer working on surveillance, let me break down the ruling 🧵 1/
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.350613/gov.uscourts.cand.350613.494.0.pdf
NSO was found liable under federal #CFAA & state law for #Pegasus hacking through WhatsApp's servers.
As a lawyer working on surveillance, let me break down the ruling 🧵 1/
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.350613/gov.uscourts.cand.350613.494.0.pdf
Comments
NSO argued that because they had WhatsApp accounts, they were authorized to use them as they wanted (incl. hacking). Court did not buy it
As NSO failed to provide Pegasus source code relevant to establishing this claim, the court ruled in favor of WhatsApp as an evidentiary sanction.
WhatsApp’s ToS prohibit, among other things, sending harmful code, collecting users' info & using the app for illegal purposes.
Which is exactly what NSO did through Pegasus hacking!
The WhatsApp v NSO Jury Trial is scheduled to begin on March 3, 2025 at 8:30am in Oakland, CA.
This will be a case to watch!
Well, this lawsuit was only between #WhastApp and #NSO.
But it promises to have a big impact on other cases brought against spyware companies. And it validates so many victims' experiences...
Our brief featured testimonies of courageous #Pegasus targets from #Morocco, #India, #Rwanda & #Togo
This win also belongs to them & other victims
https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/nso-group-whatsapp-lawsuit-civil-society-amicus-brief/