Lawsuit
Dada v. NSO Group
A case challenging the use of spyware against journalists
On November 30, 2022, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of current and former journalists and other members of El Faro—one of Central America’s foremost independent news organizations, based in El Salvador—who were the victims of spyware attacks using NSO Group’s Pegasus technology. This case is the first filed by journalists against NSO Group in a U.S. court.
The lawsuit alleges that NSO Group and its parent company violated U.S. law by developing, selling, and assisting in the deployment of Pegasus against the plaintiffs. Between June 2020 and November 2021, El Faro’s employees, including the plaintiffs in this case, were subjected to 226 Pegasus infections. Through these attacks, their iPhones were accessed remotely and surreptitiously, their communications and activities were monitored, and their personal data was accessed and stolen. As described in the complaint, the attacks intensified around El Faro’s publication of major stories. The lawsuit asks the court to order NSO Group to identify, return, and then delete all information it obtained through the attacks, and to order NSO Group to identify the clients that ordered the surveillance.
Status: Opening brief filed on July 15, 2024.
Case Information: Dada v. NSO Group, No. 3:22-cv-07513 (N.D. Cal.), 24-2179 (9th Cir.).
Featured
Press Statements
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El Faro Journalists, Knight Institute Urge Court to Deny Motion to Dismiss Case Against Spyware Manufacturer
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Knight Institute Comments on Supreme Court’s Denial of Cert in NSO v. WhatsApp
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El Faro Journalists, Knight Institute Sue NSO Group Over Spyware
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Periodistas de El Faro y el Knight Institute demandan a NSO Group por un programa espía
Analysis
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The Biden Administration Should Continue Rebuffing NSO Group’s Latest Lobbying Efforts.
By Talya Nevins , Nicole Mo & Carrie DeCell -
Institute’s Carrie DeCell Discusses NSO Group Lawsuit on Democracy Now!
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Pegasus spyware was used to hack reporters’ phones. I’m suing its creators
By Nelson Rauda Zablah -
Why We’re Suing NSO Group
By Jameel Jaffer
Legal Filings
Click to highlight response chains
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9th Cir.
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Defendants' Answering Brief (filed under seal)
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Amicus briefs (in support of Plaintiffs)
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Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, et al.
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Electronic Privacy Information Center
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Microsoft Corporation, et al.
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Professor Cassandra Burke Robertson
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Electronic Frontier Foundation
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Plaintiffs' Opening Brief
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Excerpts of Record
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N. D. Cal.
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Opinion
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Plaintiff's Statement of Recent Decision
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Exhibit A
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Order (granting Defendants' request to supplement the protective order)
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Defendants' Stipulation
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Defendants' Reply
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Legal Scholars' Amicus Brief (in support of Plaintiffs)
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Plaintiffs' Opposition
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Defendants' Motion to Dismiss
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Declaration of Roy Blecher
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Declaration of Yaron Shohat
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Exhibit A
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Amended Complaint
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Exhibit A
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Complaint
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Exhibit A
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Related News Coverage
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A Hacked Newsroom Brings a Spyware Maker to U.S. Court
The New Yorker
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When journalists are the target of high-tech espionage
Boston Globe