Israeli spyware company NSO was ordered by a US jury to pay WhatsApp more than $167 million in punitive penalties in a lawsuit due to a 2019 breach that penetrated the accounts of over 1,400 users. The ruling comes after a five-year court struggle that the texting service owned by Meta started.
In addition to punitive damages in lawsuit, NSO Group has been ordered to pay roughly $445,000 in compensatory damages to WhatsApp. It will cover WhatsApp’s expenses for the investigation and remediation of the breach.
WhatsApp sued NSO Group in 2019 for allegedly installing Pegasus spyware on users’ smartphones by taking advantage of a flaw in its voice calling feature. Political dissidents, journalists, and human rights advocates were among the victims, according to reports.
According to WhatsApp, the intrusion broke the company’s terms of service as well as anti-hacking legislation in California and the federal government.
In December 2024, Judge Phyllis Hamilton declared that NSO Group had in fact broken both the law and WhatsApp’s service agreement. That ruling made it possible for a jury trial to determine monetary fines.
Zade Alsawah, a WhatsApp representative, described the jury’s verdict as historic.
In a statement, Alsawah said,
“Our court case has made history as the first victory against illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone.”
She underlined that the decision tells the surveillance-for-hire sector that unlawful snooping would not be tolerated.
WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart earlier called the case a wake-up message for governments and internet businesses alike. He reaffirmed that Pegasus and other monitoring programs represent a widespread threat to civil liberties and digital privacy.
NSO Group, which has continuously denied misconduct, did not rule out an appeal. The firm would “carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal,” according to company spokeswoman Gil Lainer.
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