A federal judge in Northern California has ruled against **WhatsApp** in its bid to hold **NSO Group** in contempt for allegedly violating a court injunction. The ruling by Judge **Phyllis Hamilton** stated that **WhatsApp** failed to provide sufficient 'clear and convincing evidence' that the prominent spyware company had continued to use its infrastructure for snooping attacks. The injunction, originally issued by Judge **Hamilton** in 2025, followed a previous ruling that found **NSO Group** had improperly abused **WhatsApp**'s infrastructure to target and infect users' devices with spyware, leading to a $4.4 million fine. ### The Contempt Appeal and Evidence Gap **WhatsApp**, owned by **Meta**, had appealed in June, alleging that **NSO Group** engaged in spearphishing attacks against individuals, a direct violation of the standing injunction. These claims referenced the deployment of **Pegasus** spyware against 1,400 app users in 2019. Despite winning the initial case, **WhatsApp**'s latest appeal faltered due to what Judge **Hamilton** described as a 'calculated risk' in limiting the detail of their supporting evidence. The court's opinion cited a declaration from **Andrew Blaich**, a security engineer investigator on **Meta**'s threat intelligence team. **Blaich**'s testimony alleged the discovery of 23 new **WhatsApp** accounts exhibiting 'technical and behavioral signatures that **Meta** has previously associated with **NSO** testing, including account registration patterns, device and other related information, and connections to known **NSO**-controlled infrastructure.' ### The Dilemma of Disclosure **WhatsApp** argued that providing more specific details about **Blaich**'s investigative methods would jeopardize its ability to combat spyware companies in the future. This concern echoes a similar stance taken by **Apple**, which dropped a lawsuit against **NSO Group** in September 2024, citing risks of exposing 'vital security information.' Digital freedoms advocates have strongly criticized Judge **Hamilton**'s decision, emphasizing the potential for self-sabotage if companies like **WhatsApp** are forced to publicly disclose their tracking and detection protocols. **Natalia Krapiva**, Senior Tech-Counsel at **Access Now**, stated that such disclosure requirements would 'provide enormous benefits to **NSO**, as well as foreign intelligence services, exploit developers and criminals that can learn how sophisticated spyware is detected and how platforms operate.' She warned that this could 'lead to complete impunity for the spyware industry.' Both **WhatsApp** and **NSO Group** have yet to comment on the latest ruling.