Court Refuses to Hold NSO Group in Contempt, Citing Thin Evidence from WhatsApp

A Northern California federal judge has denied WhatsApp's request to hold spyware maker NSO Group in contempt of court. Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that WhatsApp did not offer "clear and convincing evidence" that NSO had breached an injunction. The order, issued in 2025, requires NSO to stop using WhatsApp's infrastructure to mount snooping attacks on customers. At that time the judge also fined NSO $4.4 million.

NSO makes the Pegasus spyware, which was deployed against 1,400 app users in 2019. WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, alleged that NSO had since carried out spearphishing attacks against individuals. Its evidence relied solely on a declaration from Andrew Blaich, an investigator on Meta's threat intelligence team. He said he found 23 new WhatsApp accounts showing technical and behavioral signatures that Meta has previously linked to NSO testing, including registration patterns and connections to known NSO-controlled infrastructure.

WhatsApp limited the detail it provided because revealing how it detects such activity could make future efforts to fight spyware companies harder. The judge said the plaintiffs took "a calculated risk" by doing so. Digital freedoms advocates condemned the decision, arguing it would be self-sabotage for WhatsApp to publicly reveal its tracking methods. The source notes that Apple dropped its own suit against NSO in September 2024 over similar concerns about exposing vital security information.