The NSO Group is seeking to overturn or sharply reduce the $167 million in punitive damages it was ordered to pay WhatsApp over a 2019 spyware attack that targeted more than 1,400 users. In a motion filed in federal US court, the Israeli company argues that the jury’s decision was not only legally flawed but deliberately aimed at destroying the firm.
The NSO Group develops surveillance technology, most notably Pegasus, a spyware tool designed to covertly access data from smartphones, including messages, calls, location, and encrypted communications. The company claims it licenses this software exclusively to government agencies for use in criminal and national security investigations.
Describing the outcome as “outrageous,” NSO’s legal team told the court that the $167 million figure “exceeds the maximum lawful punitive damages award in this case by many orders of magnitude.” They emphasized that the amount represents a staggering “376-to-1 ratio” compared to the compensatory damages awarded, just $444,719, and insisted the verdict “plainly cannot survive constitutional scrutiny.”
