The Israeli surveillance behemoth NSO Group just made a huge move. It is the first developer of spyware to be brought to accountability for abusing vulnerabilities in smartphone platforms. So far, a jury has ruled the company pay $167 million to Meta Platforms. This decision ends a six-year legal fight that has pitted WhatsApp against the Trump and Biden administrations. This important decision is made at an important time, as the misuse of technology to surveil and hack grows of great concern.
That case, brought by WhatsApp, zeroed in on accusations that NSO Group’s spyware broke into the accounts of dozens of powerful public figures. Among them was Emmanuel Macron, the new President of France. The family members of journalist and Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi were thought to be included among the spyware’s targets as well. Khashoggi was brutally murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. The ruling’s impact goes well beyond individual cases. International media has managed to find numbers associated with prominent politicians, titans of business, activists and members of the Arab royal families that are affected.
Meta has expressed satisfaction with the jury’s ruling. They hope that it will be a powerful deterrent to any kind of illegal behavior in the tech space.
“The jury’s decision to force NSO to pay damages is a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies,” – Meta.
Commenting on the verdict, NSO Group reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that its technology is not misused. The company maintains that its software is indispensable to stopping serious crime and terrorism. It funds training to help authorized government agencies fully utilize the technology.
“We firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorised government agencies,” – NSO.
Following the ruling, NSO Group stated that it would take several days to deeply analyze the specifics of the ruling. They’re looking at all legal options, including possible appeals.
“We will carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal,” – NSO.
The case illustrates larger concerns about privacy and surveillance in our digital society. As technology has advanced, so too have fears about the ways these tools could be misused. We hope this recent ruling pushes Congress to take a closer look at the surveillance industry and all its shady practices.