Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Brought by Salvadoran Journalists Over Pegasus Spyware

The Record reported that a federal judge in California on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of Salvadoran journalists whose devices were infected with powerful zero-click spyware. The plaintiffs, who all worked for the independent Salvadoran news outlet El Faro, failed to convince the judge that their legal case had proper jurisdiction in California. [1]

The Record reported that the zero-click spyware was used repeatedly against the reporters. Between June 2020 and November 2021, the Pegasus spyware was deployed against lead plaintiff Carlos Dada and his colleagues at El Faro at least 226 times, according to court documents. [1]

Wikipedia describes Pegasus as a surveillance spyware tool created by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group. The software is designed to be covertly and remotely installed on mobile phones running iOS and Android operating systems. Although NSO Group markets Pegasus as a product for fighting crime and terrorism, governments around the world have routinely used the spyware to surveil journalists, political dissidents, lawyers, and human rights activists. [2]

Wikipedia notes that the sale of Pegasus licenses to foreign governments must be approved by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. According to Grokipedia, judges serve as impartial arbiters in judicial proceedings, tasked with managing court hearings, evaluating legal evidence, assessing arguments, and rendering decisions that uphold legal standards. [2][3]