Today, Apple filed a lawsuit in California against Israeli spyware company NSO Group for allegedly facilitating surveillance of Apple users. Access Now applauds Apple in taking a bold stand against surveillance tech used to facilitate human rights abuses.
“Privacy is Apple’s brand, and we commend the company for putting words into action by suing NSO Group,” said Peter Micek, General Counsel at Access Now. “Spyware makes everyone more vulnerable, and every tech company has an obligation to protect the people who use their platform. This lawsuit should serve as a warning to other surveillance tech purveyors like Cellebrite that their days of impunity are over.”
Apple’s new lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent victory in the WhatsApp lawsuit against NSO Group. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowed the WhatsApp case to advance, and rejected NSO Group’s attempt to block briefs filed by civil society. The U.S. government also recently blacklisted NSO Group for engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.