Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Top US court seeks Biden input on lawsuit against Israel’s NSO

Top US court seeks Biden input on lawsuit against Israel’s NSO

Supreme Court asks Justice Department to say whether spyware firm is immune from WhatsApp lawsuit over alleged hacking.

The United States Supreme Court wants the administration of President Joe Biden to weigh in on whether NSO Group has sovereign immunity from civil litigation in US courts to assess whether a lawsuit by WhatsApp against the Israeli spyware company can proceed.

NSO Group’s lawyers had argued that because the company’s product is used by foreign governments and law enforcement agencies, the firm is protected from civil lawsuits on US soil.

Last November, a US Court of Appeals dismissed NSO Group’s push to assert legal immunity, but on Monday the top US court asked the US Department of Justice to “file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States”.

WhatsApp – owned by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) – is suing NSO Group over the alleged targeting of its servers in California with malware to gain unauthorised access to approximately 1,400 mobile devices in violation of US state and federal law.

The Israeli firm has sparked outrage from rights groups after a 2021 investigation by international media outlets revealed its Pegasus spyware was used by security forces and authoritarian governments in several countries.




Last year, the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision to allow WhatsApp’s lawsuit to proceed, stressing that NSO Group does not qualify for sovereign immunity even if its clients are foreign government agencies.

NSO claims that it should enjoy the immunity extended to sovereigns because it provides technology used for law-enforcement purposes and law enforcement is an inherently sovereign function,” Judge Danielle Forrest, who was appointed by ex-President Donald Trump, wrote in the ruling.

“Whatever NSO’s government customers do with its technology and services does not render NSO an ‘agency or instrumentality of a foreign state,’ as Congress has defined that term. Thus, NSO is not entitled to the protection of foreign sovereign immunity.”

NSO Group appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. In a May filing to the top court, the firm’s lawyers called the appeals judges’ decision “dangerously wrong”.

“Precluding private entities from seeking common-law conduct-based immunity will not merely hinder foreign governments from contracting with private entities,” NSO Group’s lawyers wrote.

“It also will impede the United States’ ability to protect its national security, because the government relies heavily on private contractors to provide the technology and expertise necessary to defend the nation against foreign and domestic threats.”

In the original legal complaint, WhatsApp accused the Israeli firm of breaching its terms of service and undermining the messaging platform’s “reputation, public trust and goodwill” with hacking activities.

Last year, the Biden administration sanctioned NSO Group – adding it to the “Entity List” of companies considered to be engaged in activities contrary to US foreign policy and national security – after accusing it of enabling “transnational repression” with its spyware.

WhatsApp’s lawyers cited the sanctions in a filing to the Supreme Court earlier this year, urging the justices to disregard the Israeli firm’s request for reviewing the lower court’s decision.

“The United States has determined that NSO’s spyware activities — the very type of activities for which NSO seeks immunity — are contrary to US national-security and foreign-policy interests, and has therefore added NSO to its Entity List restricting the export, reexport, and transfer of covered entities’ items,” WhatsApp’s lawyers wrote.

“Even if private entities were eligible for common-law foreign sovereign immunity (they are not), a company on the Entity List would have no plausible claim to such immunity.”




NSO Group has regularly denied allegations of enabling human rights abuses, saying that its spyware, which is licenced by the Israeli government, is meant to track criminals and “terrorists”.

Last year, it also dismissed the findings of the investigation into Pegasus, which was based on a major data leak, as “uncorroborated theories”.

But rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused the group of flouting its “human rights responsibilities”, calling on the Israeli government to revoke the firm’s permits.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×