A federal judge did order NSO Group to produce Pegasus-related computer code in WhatsApp’s lawsuit, but the ruling did not publish Pegasus’s source code or establish that Meta received a complete, usable copy. The order was a litigation-discovery measure, and later court filings showed that the adequacy and accessibility of NSO’s production remained disputed.
Why Meta-owned WhatsApp sued NSO
WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, sued Israeli spyware company NSO Group in October 2019. WhatsApp alleged that NSO customers used Pegasus-related malware through WhatsApp infrastructure to target approximately 1,400 mobile phones and other devices between April and May 2019. The alleged targets included journalists, human-rights defenders, diplomats and civil-society figures. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion describes the allegations and WhatsApp’s claims under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, California computer-access law, contract theories and trespass-related law.
The case is WhatsApp Inc. et al. v. NSO Group Technologies Limited et al., No. 4:19-cv-07123-PJH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Ninth Circuit allowed the case to proceed in 2021. Read the Ninth Circuit opinion.
What the February 2024 order actually required
On February 23, 2024, Judge Phyllis Hamilton ordered NSO to produce computer code associated with Pegasus and other relevant spyware as litigation discovery. WhatsApp sought code that could show how the spyware operated. NSO objected, arguing in part that Israeli export restrictions and other foreign-law limits prevented or constrained production.
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The court applied the discovery analysis associated with Richmark Corp. v. United States and concluded that the requested material was sufficiently important and specific to require production. The order also addressed qualifying code located on or associated with an Amazon Web Services server. Read the February 2024 order.
Discovery is not public release
A discovery order directs a party to provide evidence under the court’s procedures. It is not a ruling that makes the evidence public, and it does not mean that a company has surrendered every version, component, exploit or server used in a commercial platform.
- Accurate: The court ordered NSO to produce Pegasus-related code to the opposing party in the lawsuit.
- Not established: That the court published Pegasus source code or that Meta received the entire Pegasus platform.
- Still disputed: Whether NSO’s production was complete and meaningfully accessible.
What code was covered?
The later record describes the production obligation as covering “Pegasus computer code” and code showing the full functionality of other relevant spyware. It also covered qualifying material reflected on the AWS server. That wording is broader than a narrow installation component, but it does not prove that every historical Pegasus version or all associated infrastructure had to be delivered.
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Pegasus is not simply one fixed file. It is a commercial spyware platform involving versions, components, installation methods, servers and related functionality. Describing the order as a demand for “all of Pegasus” therefore overstates what the cited orders establish.
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On December 20, 2024, Judge Hamilton clarified that the February ruling covered Pegasus computer code and code reflecting the full functionality of relevant spyware. The court also required production of qualifying code from the AWS server despite NSO’s foreign-law objections. This clarification rejected an interpretation that limited the obligation to only a narrow installation layer.
The clarification was important because it separated the scope of the discovery obligation from the practical question of whether NSO had actually delivered usable material. Read the December 2024 order.
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Did NSO hand over the code?
The subsequent record does not support a simple statement that NSO handed Meta a complete, usable codebase. In a later order, the court said NSO had not produced Pegasus code in a way that was meaningfully accessible to Meta or the court. That describes a contested or incomplete production dispute, not necessarily a total refusal to provide anything.
Code production can involve sensitive exploit details, obsolete or incomplete components, associated infrastructure and restricted access. Production to litigation counsel, experts or the court is also different from public disclosure. No cited source establishes that Meta publicly released or published the code.
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The 2025 verdict was a separate legal event
The code dispute was only one part of the case. On May 6, 2025, Meta announced that a jury found in its favor and awarded approximately $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.3 million in punitive damages. Those figures describe the jury’s award; the cited material does not establish that Meta had collected the money.
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Liability, damages and discovery are distinct:
| Event | What it means |
|---|---|
| Discovery order | NSO had to produce specified evidence, including Pegasus-related code, under court supervision. |
| Jury verdict | The jury found NSO liable on Meta’s claims and awarded damages. |
| Permanent injunction | The court restricted specified conduct involving WhatsApp’s platform. |
| Contempt request | Meta asked the court to enforce the injunction; that is not itself a contempt finding. |
Meta’s verdict announcement provides its account of the trial and award.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the permanent injunction did
On November 12, 2025, the district court granted Meta a permanent injunction. Related orders required prohibited parties to delete or destroy specified code or technologies that use, access or depend on the WhatsApp platform, delete data derived from such access and disable customer access to covered technologies.
The injunction was narrowed. It focused on WhatsApp-related conduct, excluded sovereign government customers and outside counsel, and revised or removed some provisions in Meta’s proposed order. It was not a worldwide ban on every NSO spyware operation or a ruling that all Pegasus use is unlawful. See the injunction order and the order revising its language at this docket entry.
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Status in 2026: appeal and alleged violations
The case remains active. The Northern District docket records an NSO notice of appeal filed on February 11, 2026. An appeal means the litigation and enforcement questions have not simply ended with the verdict.
On June 8, 2026, WhatsApp said it had detected and disrupted NSO-linked social-engineering attempts and asked the federal court to hold NSO in contempt for allegedly violating the permanent injunction. That is Meta’s allegation and request, not a judicial finding that NSO was in contempt. Check the federal case docket and WhatsApp’s June 2026 update.
Quick Recap
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April–May 2019 | WhatsApp alleged that NSO customers used Pegasus-related malware to target about 1,400 devices. |
| October 29, 2019 | WhatsApp filed suit in the Northern District of California. |
| November 8, 2021 | The Ninth Circuit allowed the case to proceed. |
| February 23, 2024 | The district court ordered production of relevant code and rejected NSO’s foreign-law objections as a bar to discovery. |
| December 20, 2024 | The court clarified that the order covered Pegasus code and full spyware functionality. |
| May 6, 2025 | Meta announced the jury’s damages verdict. |
| November 12, 2025 | The court granted a permanent injunction. |
| December 19, 2025 | The court denied a stay and discussed concerns about the accessibility of NSO’s code production. |
| February 11, 2026 | NSO filed a notice of appeal. |
| June 8, 2026 | WhatsApp announced a contempt request based on alleged injunction violations. |
Why the ruling matters
- Commercial spyware can create civil liability: A vendor’s technology and business conduct can become the subject of platform litigation, damages and injunctions.
- Foreign restrictions do not automatically defeat U.S. discovery: The court weighed NSO’s Israeli export-control arguments against the importance and specificity of the requested evidence. That is a case-specific ruling, not a universal override of foreign law.
- Code access is an enforcement problem: An order is only as effective as the production and access it produces, particularly when a defendant, servers and infrastructure are overseas.
- Platform protection is narrower than ending spyware: The injunction targets specified WhatsApp-related conduct and does not eliminate the broader commercial spyware market.
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