Federal judge reduces fine for spyware company NSO Group from $167M to $4M
US District Judge has lowered the fine imposed on NSO Group for spying on WhatsApp users from to $4 million.
US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has lowered the fine imposed on NSO Group for spying on WhatsApp users from $167 million to $4 million. In addition, the spyware manufacturer is blocked from Meta’s messaging platform.
Back in 2019, WhatsApp sued NSO Group after an eavesdropping campaign that targeted over 1,400 WhatsApp users, including human rights activists, journalists, and government officials. NSO is an Israeli company that’s best known for developing Pegasus, a sophisticated spyware tool capable of remotely accessing smartphones.
In December 2024, the US District Court found the company liable for hacking WhatsApp users, violating the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.
“Our next step is to secure a court order to prevent NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp again,”head of WhatsApp said.
“NSO has spent five years trying to claim that they are above the law. And engaged in all sorts of maneuvering. With this order, the music stopped,” John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, said at the time.
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In May 2025, a jury decided that NSO Group has to pay $167 million in punitive damages.
“Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone,” WhatsApp’s parent company Meta said in a statement.
Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp, wrote in a post on X that the fight wasn’t over.
“Our next step is to secure a court order to prevent NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp again,” he stated.
US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton issued a permanent injunction on Friday.
In addition, the District Court significantly reduced NSO Group’s punitive damages from $167 million to $4 million. According to the judge, NSO Group’s conduct cannot be described as “particularly egregious,” which leads to lower financial compensation. Therefore, the punitive damages ratio was capped at 9 to 1, reducing the payment to $4 million.
Nevertheless, WhatsApp is very pleased with the court’s verdict.
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“Today’s ruling bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again. We applaud this decision that comes after six years of litigation to hold NSO accountable for targeting members of civil society. It sets an important precedent that there are serious consequences to attacking an American company,” Catchcart responded.
In a response to Reuters, NSO Group said it welcomed the 97% reduction in punitive damages and said that the injunction did not apply to NSO’s customers, “who will continue using the company’s technology to help protect public safety.”
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