Appeals court clears path for El Salvadoran journos to sue spyware maker | CyberScoop<\/title> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Appeals court clears path for El Salvadoran journos to sue spyware maker\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The court vacated the district court\u2019s decision to dismiss the case against NSO Group, saying it abused its discretion in doing so.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyberscoop\/\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-08T21:47:23+00:00\"> <meta 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<\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.912322274882\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.407594936709\">\n<p> The court vacated the district court\u2019s decision to dismiss the case against NSO Group, saying it abused its discretion in doing so. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/85113\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker.jpg?resize=640%2C390&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=300,183 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=768,468 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=1024,623 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=1536,935 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=600,365 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=276,168 276w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=553,337 553w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=1109,675 1109w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-2.jpg?resize=1385,843 1385w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1109px) 100vw, 1109px\"><figcaption> SimpleImages, Getty Images <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"24.716309186564\"><body readability=\"50.567024754787\"><\/p>\n<p>A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit that El Salvadoran journalists had brought against leading spyware maker NSO Group.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that a district court that dismissed the suit \u2014 on the grounds that the California court wasn\u2019t the right forum \u2014 abused its discretion.<\/p>\n<p>With the dismissal of Dada et al v. NSO Group vacated, the case returns to the Northern District of California to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re pleased with today\u2019s decision and look forward to seeking justice on behalf of El Faro journalists in U.S. court, where the case belongs,\u201d said Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney and legislative adviser at the Knight First Amendment Institute, which argued in <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/nso-group-spyware-case-el-salvadoran-journalists\/\">the appeals court<\/a> for the plaintiffs. \u201cSpyware manufacturers that participate in the persecution of journalists shouldn\u2019t be able to operate with impunity, and U.S. courts must ensure that they are held accountable for their actions where those actions violate U.S. law, as they did here.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The lawsuit overcame <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/spyware-court-cases-nso-group-meta-whatsapp-apple\/\">a legal hurdle<\/a> that has <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/appeals-court-rejects-khashoggi-widow-lawsuit-against-nso-group\/\">proven troublesome<\/a> to those suing spyware makers, namely \u201cforum non conveniens,\u201d which allows a court to dismiss a case if it doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s the proper venue.<\/p>\n<p>Judges Jennifer Sung and Michael Simon wrote in <a href=\"https:\/\/knightcolumbia.org\/documents\/1xni3pswgo\">an opinion<\/a> explaining the decision that the plaintiffs, which include U.S. residents and citizens, were entitled to a strong presumption in their favor of their choice of forum based on their U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears the district court gave little to no deference to Plaintiffs\u2019 choice of forum, overlooked the allegations of the operative complaint, and shifted the burden of proof from Defendants to Plaintiffs,\u201d the opinion reads.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Bridget Bade dissented, arguing that the district judge\u2019s discretion was proper because they weren\u2019t residents of the district, among other arguments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo the extent that Plaintiffs allege that their iPhones were hacked through Apple\u2019s iMessage or iCloud services, there is no allegation that Apple\u2019s servers in California were exploited in so doing,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. 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sue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3000,302,1469,268,482,2345],"tags":[3017,306,1471,274,484,2348],"class_list":["post-7787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-el-salvador","category-geopolitics","category-nso-group","category-privacy","category-spyware","category-u-s-courts","tag-el-salvador","tag-geopolitics","tag-nso-group","tag-privacy","tag-spyware","tag-u-s-courts"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a 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{"id":7787,"date":"2025-07-08T16:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T21:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=85113"},"modified":"2025-07-08T16:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T21:47:23","slug":"appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/appeals-court-clears-path-for-el-salvadoran-journos-to-sue-spyware-maker\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court clears path for El Salvadoran journos to sue spyware maker"},"content":{"rendered":"