WhatsApp has asked a US court to hold NSO Group in contempt for violating a permanent injunction barring the company from targeting WhatsApp and its users, Meta said on June 8, 2026. The request follows fresh attacks linked to NSO’s Pegasus spyware, marking the first alleged breach since the injunction was won in October 2025, when NSO was found liable for hacking under federal and state law, according to medianama.com.
Meta alleges that despite the court order, NSO Group continued operations and was behind new spyware attacks targeting WhatsApp users. The Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli firm NSO, was blacklisted by the US government in 2021. The injunction was a result of litigation that exposed NSO’s role in hacking WhatsApp users globally, including high-profile targets in India and other countries, medianama.com reported.
The case highlights ongoing concerns over NSO’s activities, especially given Pegasus’s widespread targeting of 1,223 users across 51 countries. India was the second-most targeted country after Mexico, with 100 victims including prominent figures like Congress politician Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Indian Supreme Court’s technical committee found malware on some phones but could not confirm Pegasus’s presence, with investigations hampered by lack of government cooperation, medianama.com noted.
The US litigation against NSO Group continues to advance while India’s accountability process remains stalled. The injunction against NSO was granted in October 2025, and WhatsApp’s contempt motion was filed on June 8, 2026, reflecting ongoing legal efforts to hold the spyware maker accountable, according to medianama.com.