U.S. Court Ruling on Pegasus Probe in India

• A U.S. court has held Israeli company NSO Group Technologies liable for installing spyware on targeted individuals’ phones via WhatsApp.

• The ruling highlights the Centre’s inaction in investigating surveillance allegations in India in 2021.

• WhatsApp sued NSO Group in October 2019, alleging its system was used to plant malware on around 1,400 mobile devices.

• The court agreed with WhatsApp that its application had been reverse-engineered to create a modified version called ‘WhatsApp Installation Server’ or WIS.

• The ruling raises questions about the fate of reports submitted by a court-appointed expert committee to the Supreme Court of India.

• The Indian government’s silence, denial, and obfuscation during the investigation have been criticized.

• The government’s claim that the country has laws against illegal surveillance is criticized as a stance that jeopardizes national security.

• The ruling calls for sealed reports to be opened and deeper probes to be initiated.