Judge forbids NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"WhatsApp has won a ruling against spyware maker NSO Group forbidding it from targeting its users, while NSO Group in the same ruling got a massive reduction to the punitive damages a court had previously awarded.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/whatsapp-wins-injunction-against-nso-group-spyware-damages-reduced\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge forbids NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WhatsApp has won a ruling against spyware maker NSO Group forbidding it from targeting its users, while NSO Group in the same ruling got a massive reduction to the punitive damages a court had previously awarded.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" 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\/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/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=\"24.676113360324\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"30.315789473684\">\n<p> The judge also reduced the amount NSO Group would have to pay in punitive damages from $167.3 million to $4 million. <\/p>\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=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" 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https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> designer491, iStock\/Getty Images Plus <\/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=\"42.312834847426\"><body readability=\"85.977698935631\"><\/p>\n<p>WhatsApp has won a ruling against spyware maker NSO Group forbidding it from targeting its users, while NSO Group in the same ruling got a massive reduction to the punitive damages a court had previously awarded.<\/p>\n<p>Northern California District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-order-2025.pdf\">the permanent injunction<\/a> in a ruling late Friday. In doing so, she noted the fundamental harm to Meta\u2019s business, given the nature of WhatsApp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea of a business offering technological privacy as a service is a relatively new one, as evidenced by defendants\u2019 expert\u2019s discussion of the recent proliferation in end-to-end encryption technology,\u201d she wrote. \u201cPlaintiffs appear to have made such encryption, and the privacy and security that it entails, a significant part of its pitch to users, making it reasonable to conclude that users would be dissuaded from using Whatsapp if its encryption were ineffective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, she reduced the $167.3 million in punitive damages <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/nso-group-owes-whatsapp-over-spyware-infections-jury\/\">a jury awarded<\/a> against NSO Group in May. She reduced the amount to $4 million, citing previous court precedent tying the ratio of damages that can be awarded to the behavior in question.<\/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>\u201cOther courts may later determine that behavior such as defendants\u2019 is indeed \u2018particularly egregious\u2019 and capable of supporting a ratio of even higher than 9\/1,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIn this court\u2019s view, at this time, there have simply not yet been enough cases involving unlawful electronic surveillance in the smartphone era for the court to be able to conclude that defendants\u2019 conduct was \u2018particularly egregious.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, celebrated Hamilton\u2019s injunction Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s ruling bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NSO Group had said the injunction \u201cwould put NSO Group\u2019s entire enterprise at risk\u201d and \u201cforce NSO Group out of business,\u201d Hamilton wrote.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for NSO Group hailed parts of the ruling while criticizing others. The injunction doesn\u2019t apply to NSO Group customers, for instance. (It is also limited to WhatsApp, not other Meta products.)<\/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 97% reduction in damages was welcome, wrote the spokesperson, Gil Lainer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the remaining sum is still disproportionately high, this significant reduction marks a step in the right direction,\u201d he said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n<p>An American investment group recently <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/10\/10\/spyware-maker-nso-group-confirms-acquisition-by-us-investors\/\">acquired controlling ownership<\/a> of NSO Group. The Israeli news website Calcalist reported that Hollywood producer Robert Simonds was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.calcalistech.com\/ctechnews\/article\/s1jgvmitgx\">leading the investors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegarding the request for an injunction, we commend the judge\u2019s determination that the order will not apply to NSO\u2019s customers, who will continue using the company\u2019s technology to help protect public safety,\u201d Lainer said. \u201cHowever, the continued disregard for the proven value of NSO\u2019s technology in supporting governments and law enforcement agencies in the fight against terrorism and serious crime undermines the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not comment directly on whether the more limited injunction the judge awarded compared to the one WhatsApp sought, or the reduction in damages, would still put NSO Group out of business. He said NSO Group would review the decision before deciding its next legal steps.<\/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>NSO Group has long been seen as the spyware industry\u2019s company. John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the University of Toronto\u2019s Citizen Lab, <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/jsrailton.bsky.social\/post\/3m3ggurlnec2q\">observed on the social media platform BlueSky<\/a> that the injunction is a \u201c[h]uge competitive disadvantage for the notorious company\u201d and \u201cseriously dims value of NSO\u2019s spyware product.\u201d<\/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\/10\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users-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. Email Tim here: <a href=\"mailto:tim.starks@cyberscoop.com\">tim.starks@cyberscoop.com<\/a>. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div 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{"id":8090,"date":"2025-10-20T10:27:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T15:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=86412"},"modified":"2025-10-20T10:27:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T15:27:43","slug":"judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/20\/judge-forbids-nso-group-from-targeting-whatsapp-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge forbids NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users"},"content":{"rendered":"