Spyware maker NSO Group blocked from WhatsApp

A federal judge has granted Meta-owned WhatsApp’s request for a permanent injunction blocking Israeli cyberintelligence company NSO Group from targeting the messaging app’s users. At the same time, the judge dramatically reduced the fine that NSO Group must pay to Meta.

Earlier this year, a jury decided that the cyberintelligence company would have to pay Meta more than $167 million following a 2019 campaign that targeted more than 1,400 WhatsApp users, including human rights activists and journalists. 

However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled Friday that because the court did not have enough evidence to determine that NSO Group’s behavior was “particularly egregious,” the punitive damages ratio was capped at 9 to 1, reducing the payment to around $4 million.

In a statement provided to Courthouse News Service, Head of WhatsApp Will Cathart said the ruling “bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again.”

“We applaud this decision that comes after six years of litigation to hold NSO accountable for targeting members of civil society,” Cathart said.

NSO Group recently confirmed that it’s being acquired by U.S. investors.