US Court Bans Israeli NSO Group from Deploying Spyware on WhatsApp Users

A U.S. court has imposed an injunction banning Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group from deploying its spyware against WhatsApp users.

“A US judge has issued an injunction preventing Israeli spyware maker NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users, following a lawsuit filed by Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company”

Arab News

Multiple outlets describe this as a major legal setback for the company.

Arab News

District Judge Phyllis Hamilton issued the order on October 17 to stop targeting WhatsApp users, citing ongoing and irreparable harm.

The court found that NSO’s tools cause irreparable harm to Meta, the owner of WhatsApp.

The case stems from allegations of cyberespionage against journalists, lawyers, and activists.

The injunction follows Meta’s lawsuit over unlawful reverse engineering of WhatsApp to infect users’ devices.

The ruling significantly reduced the damages awarded, with West Asian and Asian media outlets reporting a cut from $168 million to $4 million.

Al Jazeera states that the judge considered the original amount to be excessive.

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Arab News similarly notes that the behavior in question did not justify a higher penalty.

Free Malaysia Today offers the most detailed explanation, quoting the court's opinion that NSO's actions did not reach the "particularly egregious" level required for such severe penalties.

Courts found NSO infiltrated WhatsApp using sophisticated methods.

Daily Jang reports that evidence showed NSO hacked WhatsApp to secretly install and continuously modify spyware to evade detection.

Free Malaysia Today and Arab News both report the company reverse-engineered WhatsApp’s code to stealthily install spyware designed to bypass security updates and avoid detection.

Al Jazeera adds that Pegasus was used to stealthily infect phones by bypassing security measures.

Several outlets emphasize that the targets frequently included journalists, lawyers, and activists, highlighting the ruling’s human-rights implications alongside platform security harms.

Reactions are divided between calls for platform accountability and NSO's defenses.

Daily Jang quotes WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart praising the decision and emphasizing that NSO is now banned from targeting WhatsApp users worldwide.

CTV News

Al Jazeera reports that Meta described the outcome as a significant victory after six years of litigation.

Free Malaysia Today notes that NSO claims it only licenses its Pegasus spyware to governments to combat crime and terrorism, despite links to states with poor human-rights records.

Arab News expands on the issue, citing accusations that Pegasus infected around 1,400 devices for cyberespionage.

Free Malaysia Today also highlights a recent change in control, with a U.S. investment group acquiring a controlling interest in NSO.

Coverage diverges on the scope and impacted populations of the Meta ban.

“It looks like the main body of the article wasn’t included”

CTV News

Daily Jang emphasizes a worldwide prohibition.

Digital Journal

West Asian outlets highlight harm to Meta’s privacy promise and to civil society targets like journalists and activists.

Free Malaysia Today adds legal nuance about the standard for punitive damages and points to government-linked use in states with poor human-rights records.

In sharp contradiction, Digital Journal reports that no other individuals are involved or affected.

This view is at odds with multiple outlets that identify broad classes of targeted victims and ongoing harm recognized by the court.