I do not like surveillance software. I know I probably use some everyday, but that’s life under surveillance capitalism. It’s why I’m glad to see the NSO Group get taken to task yesterday in court yesterday by Apple.
Who is the NSO Group
It was exposed some time ago that the NSO Group made a spyware suite of tools called Pegasus. This would allow anyone with these tools to gain access to microphones, cameras, and sensitive data on Apple or Android devices. These tools were developed for and sold to government and police agents around the world.
Apple decided to take the NSO Group to court in November 2021. However, the NSO Group has been trying to relocate the trial to its home turf, Israel.
NSO wants case moved
Yesterday’s victory, though, is tied to the NSO Group trying to dismiss the case altogether. The judge wasn’t having any of it.
Judge Donato ruled that the spyware company’s request to dismiss and move the trial to Israel didn’t pass muster. The judge stated that Apple would face the same issues in Israel that NSO is facing in the US.
These factors are a wash. NSO’s ostensible burdens with respect to witnesses and evidence in this District are neatly balanced by equivalent burdens Apple would face if this case were litigated in Israel. Witnesses and evidence are likely to be located in here and abroad in fairly equal measure, and one side or the other will face some challenges. NSO has not demonstrated otherwise. NSO also overlooks the fact that the challenges will be amenable to a number of mitigating practices.”
Judge Donato
On top of that, the NSO Group tried to argue that Apple doesn’t have any ground to sue it. The judge again disagreed with NSO. They stated that Apple is valid in suing NSO because it violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law.
I feel this is another attempt for something that is clearly a human rights violation to get swept under the rug by Israel. There are a lot of things that Israel has that are doing similar things to the millions of displaced citizens of Palestine. With the multitude of technical advancements Israel has, they use it on the oppressed population, perfect it, and send it back to countries like the US to use on its citizens.
Pegasus is only one example of them sending tech to spy on and oppress populations across the globe.
What is happening in Palestine will happen near you if we do not put a stop to it!
#FreePalestine
Source: 9To5Mac
