Dada v. NSO Group Technologies Limited

Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Date Filed: July 22, 2024

Background: In 2022, journalists for the Salvadoran news outlet El Faro sued NSO Group Technologies in U.S. federal court, alleging that the Israeli cyber-intelligence firm targeted them with its spyware, Pegasus. The journalists claimed that the cyber attacks were intended to undermine their independent reporting in El Salvador.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the lawsuit, concluding that the reporters couldn’t sue in the United States because the case was “entirely foreign.”   

The journalists appealed the district court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Our Position: The Ninth Circuit should reverse the district court’s order dismissing the lawsuit.

• The proliferation of spyware undermines press freedom worldwide.

• In refusing to hear the journalists’ claims of spyware abuse, the district court gave inadequate weight to federal policy favoring press freedom.

Quote: “The tools provided by commercial hacking firms have been abused to target foreign news organizations with American audiences, to compromise the communications of American journalists working overseas, and even to spy illegally on reporters within the United States. Those abuses undermine the United States’ bedrock commitment to a free press and the free flow of information to the public.” 

Related: Reporters Committee Staff Attorney Grayson Clary previously highlighted the Ninth Circuit’s 2021 decision holding that NSO Group is not protected by sovereign immunity and may be sued for allegations of misuse of its spyware.