In May, spyware manufacturer NSO Group was handed a judgment requiring it to pay $167 million in damages to WhatsApp over a 2019 cyberattack that targeted more than 1,400 individuals.
Calling the monetary penalty “outrageous,” “blatantly unlawful,” and “unconstitutionally excessive,” NSO Group has now formally requested the overseeing judge either substantially reduce the damages or order a new trial entirely.
In a motion filed on Thursday, NSO asked the court to grant either a retrial or a “remittitur”—a legal procedure that allows judges to revise jury awards deemed excessively punitive. The company’s attorneys contended that the $167 million punitive damage award vastly surpassed acceptable legal standards. Specifically, they argued the award violated established guidelines specifying punitive damages cannot exceed four times the amount of compensatory damages—in this case, $444,719.
NSO’s legal team further insisted the jury acted improperly, motivated by bias and hostility, and aimed to financially cripple the spyware firm over its broader business operations, rather than solely addressing the specific misconduct under consideration.
In a separate statement, WhatsApp spokesperson Margarita Franklin vowed to continue pursuing accountability against NSO Group. “For the past six years, NSO has repeatedly attempted to evade responsibility,” Franklin said. “This latest action is an expected attempt to claim impunity, triggered by a clear verdict handed down by a jury of U.S. citizens aiming to hold NSO accountable for its 2019 illegal intrusion against an American company and its users. We will address these latest claims directly with the court and continue to seek a permanent injunction to prohibit NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and its users again.”
In addition to claiming the judgment was unlawful and excessive, NSO’s filing asserted the damages awarded far exceeded the company’s financial resources, reflecting a punitive intent rather than an accurate measure of harm. During the trial, NSO had already characterized its financial situation as severely distressed.
