US EditionSpyware maker NSO ordered to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp
- A California jury on May 6, 2025, ordered Israeli spyware maker NSO Group to pay Meta Platforms over $167 million for hacking WhatsApp users in 2019.
- WhatsApp filed the lawsuit after NSO exploited a bug in its audio-calling feature to install Pegasus spyware targeting about 1,400 journalists, activists, and dissidents.
- NSO's research team of 140 people, with a $50 million budget, partly focused on developing exploits for smartphone vulnerabilities used by client governments including Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
- The damages include $444,719 in compensatory and $167,256,000 in punitive damages aimed at punishing NSO and deterring future spyware misuse.
- The verdict sets a legal precedent highlighting the consequences for illegal spyware and signals increased accountability for surveillance technology companies worldwide.
154 Articles
154 Articles
The company that owns the Pegasus spy software, condemned to pay 168 million dollars to Meta
NSO, the Israeli firm that developed Pegasus spy software, has been sentenced to pay 168 million dollars in damages to Meta. The technological giant had already been declared winner in December 2024 in the trial against the company for the violation of its courier service, WhatsApp. This program was the Trojan horse to infect the mobile phone of 1,200 people in the world, including politicians and journalists, which constituted espionage scandal…
The U.S. court ordered Pegasus spy developer to pay WhatsApp $170 million for hacking users.
The court in the United States ordered the Israeli company NSO Group, which developed Pegasus' spy program, to pay WhatsApp and his mother's company Meta nearly $170 million as compensation for using vulnerability in the messenger to hack accounts and mobile devices.
Jury Awards Meta $168 Million in WhatsApp Spyware Case
A California jury awarded Meta nearly $168 million in compensation on May 6 in a privacy case against Israeli spyware company NSO Group. In October 2019, WhatsApp and Facebook, both of which operate under Meta, filed a lawsuit against NSO Group. The complaint alleged that in April and May 2019, NSO used WhatsApp services to “send malware to approximately 1,400 mobile phones and devices” to surveil users of these devices. In December 2024, the U.…
Global: Ruling against NSO Group in Whatsapp case a “momentous win in fight against spyware abuse” Ruling against NSO Group in Whatsapp case a “momentous win in fight against spyware abuse”
Responding to a ruling that spyware maker NSO Group must pay more than USD167 million in damages to Whatsapp, Rebecca White, Amnesty International’s researcher on targeted surveillance, said:“This is a momentous win in the fight against spyware abuse. NSO Group, which develops the notorious and highly invasive Pegasus spyware, has been implicated in severe human rights violations against civil society, including journalists and activists, global…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 41% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
Ownership
To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage
