A federal judge has approved WhatsApp’s request, a platform owned by Meta, for a permanent injunction preventing the Israeli cyberintelligence firm NSO Group from targeting its users. Concurrently, the judge has significantly reduced the financial penalty NSO Group must pay to Meta.
Earlier this year, a jury ordered NSO Group to pay over $167 million to Meta following a 2019 spyware campaign that affected more than 1,400 WhatsApp users, including journalists and human rights activists.
However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled on Friday that there was insufficient evidence to classify NSO Group’s actions as “particularly egregious.” Consequently, the punitive damages were limited to a 9-to-1 ratio, lowering the total payment to approximately $4 million.
In a statement to Courthouse News Service, WhatsApp’s Head Will Cathart expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating it “prohibits spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again.”
“We commend this decision, which comes after six years of litigation aimed at holding NSO accountable for its actions against civil society members,” Cathart added.
Recently, NSO Group confirmed that it is in the process of being acquired by U.S. investors.
