US Court ruling on Pegasus: Here's its direct impact in India
New Indian ExpressThe US court's decision on Friday in favor of WhatsApp, the messaging platform owned by Meta, which holds Israeli spyware maker NSO Group directly liable for targeting around 1,400 users with its spyware, Pegasus, is expected to have ripple effects in India. In 2021, many reports in the media revealed that Pegasus spyware was used to target over 300 Indian mobile numbers, including those of two serving ministers, opposition leaders, journalists, and business people. Bringing much-needed context to the alleged spyware targeting WhatsApp users and the accountability for this privacy violation, a US court has, for the first time, ruled that the Israeli spyware maker NSO Group is liable for deploying Pegasus, stating that it violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California's Cybersecurity laws. The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied any involvement, calling the surveillance claims "baseless," and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that India’s surveillance laws prevent unauthorised surveillance.