Faced with a lawsuit filed by Meta Platforms for espionage against its users, surveillance software company NSO is seeking immunity from the US Supreme Court.
In its request, the Israeli company behind the Pegasus scandal argues that it should be recognized as a foreign government agent under US law restricting the possibility of appealing against foreign states. The NSO is thus seeking the annulment of two previous judgments rejecting the claim.
Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook Inc., filed a lawsuit against NSO in 2019 for monitoring 1.400 WhatsApp users, at least 100 of whom were journalists, human rights activists and members of civil society.
A possible waiver of immunity would prevent the lawsuit from being heard and at the same time protect the NSO from the risk of disclosing its client list in court.
In its request, the Israeli company claims that the decision of the Supreme Court will have major consequences for national security issues.
"Many countries, including the United States, rely on private contractors to carry out or support key government activities," the company wrote. "If contractors can never ask for immunity […] then the US and other countries may see their military operations and intelligence operations disrupted by lawsuits against their agents."
"Immoral mercenaries"
The NSO flagship is the now infamous Pegasus software, which allows government agencies to secretly track the cell phones of suspected terrorists or other serious criminals. The company does not disclose its customers, but claims that it sells the software only to foreign governments, with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
But it is widely known that countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Poland have abused the system to spy on political opponents, journalists and activists.
NSO insists it is not responsible for how its software is used by its customers and assures that it has taken steps to prevent abuse.
"NSO spyware violates the rights of citizens, journalists and human rights activists and its attacks must stop," Meta said.
He also claims that it would be "dangerous for the whole world" to grant immunity to spyware companies.
Meta's lawsuit is not the only one facing the NSO. Among other things, Apple has filed a lawsuit against iPhone users, calling the company's founders "immoral mercenaries of the 21st century."
The NSO entered the US blacklist last year which prohibits companies and individuals from doing business with the company. The European Union is now putting spyware companies under the microscope.
The European Parliament will set up a committee on 19 April to look into the use of espionage tools in member states, following the revelation that opposition members and journalists were targeted in Poland and Hungary, countries that had bought NSO software.
in.gr