Amnesty International pleads for a total ban on spyware

Amnesty International is asking governments to implement a comprehensive ban on tools that serve only one purpose: spying and eavesdropping on innocent people.

Last week, the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group was convicted of unlawfully exploiting a bug in Meta’s messaging service WhatsApp, which enabled the company to install spyware on users’ phones. A jury ruled that NSO Group owed Meta $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.3 million in punitive damages.

“Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone,” Meta said in a statement.

Amnesty International is happy with the ruling against NSO Group and calls it a “momentous win in the fight against spyware abuse.”

“NSO Group, which develops the notorious and highly invasive Pegasus spyware, has been implicated in severe human rights violations against civil society, including journalists and activists, globally,” Rebecca White, Amnesty International’s researcher on targeted surveillance, says in a response.

Amnesty International has documented how spyware companies, like NSO Group, have enabled human rights abuses on a massive scale for years. But according to the human rights organization, the surveillance industry has failed to act in protecting human rights.

“We trust that this victory will deter the spyware industry, its investors, and its government customers worldwide. We hope this judgement offers some measure of solace to Pegasus’ thousands of victims. Let this be a signal, loud and clear, that change is imminent. Those who misuse spyware to infringe on human rights will be held accountable and cannot act with impunity,” White ads.

She hopes that the verdict will inspire governments to take action against companies like NSO Group.

“This decision should serve as a wake-up call to governments to take proactive, concrete steps to regulate the surveillance industry, to enforce safeguards on their surveillance practices, and to comprehensively ban tools that are inherently incompatible with human rights obligations and standards, such as Pegasus.”

NSO Group told the media it would carefully examine the verdict’s details and consider an appeal. The company also said it believes its “technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is used responsibly by appropriate government authorities.”