The NSO Group, the developer behind the controversial Pegasus spyware, has formally requested a new trial or a significant reduction in the $167 million in damages it was ordered to pay WhatsApp. This legal challenge follows a jury verdict in May that held the firm liable for a 2019 hacking operation that compromised the devices of over 1,400 individuals.
Legal Strategy: Challenging the Multi-Million Dollar Award
On Thursday, the company filed a motion for a new trial or a “remittitur,” a legal mechanism used to contest court-ordered damages deemed excessive. Attorneys for NSO Group characterized the $167 million penalty as “outrageous,” “blatantly unlawful,” and “unconstitutionally excessive.”
The core of the company’s argument rests on the proportionality of the award. Defense lawyers contend that the punitive damages far exceed the legal threshold, which typically limits such awards to four times the compensatory damages. In this case, the compensatory damages were set at $444,719, making the $167 million figure, according to the filing, “many orders of magnitude” beyond the maximum lawful limit.
Hostility vs. Accountability
Beyond the mathematical argument, the NSO Group claims the jury’s decision was influenced by an “improper desire to bankrupt” the firm. The company argues that the verdict reflects an underlying hostility toward its business model rather than a measured response to the specific conduct addressed in the lawsuit.
Furthermore, the filing emphasizes that the financial penalty “grossly exceeds NSO’s ability to pay,” reiterating claims regarding the company’s precarious financial standing that were previously presented during the trial.
WhatsApp Vows to Continue Legal Battle
The pushback from NSO Group has not deterred WhatsApp. Margarita Franklin, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned platform, dismissed the filing as a predictable tactic to avoid legal consequences.
“For the past six years, NSO has tried to avoid accountability at every turn,” Franklin stated. “This is another expected attempt to claim impunity, in response to a strong message from the jury of U.S. citizens deciding to punish NSO for its 2019 illegal attack against an American company and its users.”
WhatsApp remains committed to securing a permanent injunction against the spyware firm to prevent future targeting of its infrastructure and user base. As reported by Law360 and MLex, the court is now tasked with determining whether the original verdict will stand or be adjusted in light of the company’s appeal.