WhatsApp bagged a one-in-a-million win against spyware companies.
Meta’s messaging app WhatsApp, after a five-year legal battle, emerged victorious against NSO, an Israeli spyware company founded in 2010, CNN reported.
The lawsuit filed in 2019 by WhatsApp which accused the controversial NSO product, Pegasus for unlawful surveillance of over 1000 phones, and tracking high-profile individuals including politian’s, human rights activists, journalists and government leaders.
Pegasus, a spyware developed by the Israeli company designed to be covertly installed on mobile phones is used for eavesdropping on mobile phones and extracting the data.
Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California shared in her ruling on Friday that NSO has violated both state and federal hacking laws along with WhatsApp’s terms of service.
The ruling summary shared that the case will now go to trial in March 2025 to understand the damages NSO Group owe WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, the company in a previously shared statement denied any of these claims and said that the spyware is only used by government security forces and law enforcement agencies to battle terrorism and criminals.
The head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart turned to threads to share his delight over the win, wrote, “This ruling is a huge win for privacy”.
After the ruling, WhatsApp also issued a statement addressing spyware companies, where they gave warning to companies that their illegal actions will not be tolerated.
