US Supreme Court Lets Meta's WhatsApp Pursue 'Pegasus' Spyware Suit (reuters.com) 13
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let Meta's WhatsApp pursue a lawsuit accusing Israel's NSO Group of exploiting a bug in its WhatsApp messaging app to install spy software allowing the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents. From a report: The justices turned away NSO's appeal of a lower court's decision that the lawsuit could move forward. NSO has argued that it is immune from being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the "Pegasus" spyware.
President Joe Biden's administration had urged the justices to reject NSO's appeal, noting that the U.S. State Department had never before recognized a private entity acting as an agent of a foreign state as being entitled to immunity. WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims' mobile devices.
President Joe Biden's administration had urged the justices to reject NSO's appeal, noting that the U.S. State Department had never before recognized a private entity acting as an agent of a foreign state as being entitled to immunity. WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims' mobile devices.
This may not end well for the USA (Score:3)
When foreign governments prove that certain tech giants have been serving US intelligence interests...
Re: (Score:2)
That is old news. This was kinda shown during the end of the G.W. Bush administration with Telco providing warentless wiretapping, as well having many members of US allies having their devices spied on.
Re: This may not end well for the USA (Score:2)
Ya, on their own equipment, which is wildly different than something like Google hacking into WeChat.
The only way for the Pegasus company to legally hack into a device through WhatsApp, if if they do it without sending anything to the WhatsApp servers or ever installing/using the WhatsApp client app themselves or directing others to do it . Their are likely environments where they could legally monitor the traffic sent, and ways where they could legally get access to a device with installed without installi
Oh Really? (Score:3, Insightful)
So that means that Blackwater can be sued now for all of the atrocities it has committed against innocent people of middle-eastern origin in the name of Freedom on behalf of the United States Government?
Re: (Score:2)
"No Controlling Legal Authority"
Re: (Score:3)
So that means that Blackwater can be sued now for all of the atrocities it has committed against innocent people of middle-eastern origin in the name of Freedom on behalf of the United States Government?
Only if you can establish that the State Department considers the United States Government to be a "foreign entity". I'd say the odds are pretty low.
Only Facebook is allowed to spy on its users (Score:5, Insightful)
Third parties can't do it without asking.
Re: Only Facebook is allowed to spy on its users (Score:3)
Yes, exactly my thoughts. Pot, kettle.
Maybe I'm just stating the obvious: I never signed up for any service/abuse by Zuckerberg.
Re: (Score:1)
Came here to post this, you'd already done it.
Funny how this isn't mainstream headlines (Score:1)
if this was treated as any other foreign nation the U.S. Media (and the copycats in client nations) would be blaring about this being a threat to democracy and freedom. Except this time it really, really is.
But how will they spy on Palestinians? (Score:3)
If Facebook/Meta win, will that stop the Israeli army spying on Palestinians? How will they know which Palestinians to throw into jail for reporting Israeli abuses to human rights groups or taking videos of the most moral army in the world murdering children?