The US Supreme Court has ruled that a lawsuit by WhatsApp accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a flaw in the popular messaging app to install spy software can go ahead.
Whatsapp claim the software installed enabled the surveillance of 1,400 individuals, including journalists, human rights activists, and dissidents.
The Supreme Court denied NSO’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that the litigation may proceed. NSO maintained that it is exempt from being sued since it implanted the “Pegasus” spyware as an agent for undisclosed foreign governments.
The administration of President Joe Biden urged the Supreme Court to dismiss NSO’s appeal, emphasizing that the Power Department had never before granted protection to a private business operating as an agent of a foreign state.
Whatsapp parent company Meta praised the court’s decision to reject NSO’s “baseless” appeal in a statement.
“NSO’s spyware has enabled cyberattacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials,” Meta said. “We firmly believe that their operations violate U.S. law and they must be held to account for their unlawful operations.”
Lawyers for NSO did not reply to a request for comment on the ruling.