---
title: Judge denies WhatsApp's motion to hold NSO Group in contempt of the 2025 injunction, citing too little detail in Meta's evidence | ctxsec
url: https://ctxsec.com/items/whatsapp-nso-contempt-denied
description: ""
status: "confirmed (court order)"
published: 2026-10-19
---

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confirmed (court order)

2026-10-19

### Judge denies WhatsApp's motion to hold NSO Group in contempt of the 2025 injunction, citing too little detail in Meta's evidence

In an order filed Oct 16 in WhatsApp v. NSO Group (N.D. Cal., 19-cv-07123-PJH, Dkt. 884), Judge Phyllis Hamilton denied WhatsApp's motion to hold NSO in contempt. WhatsApp had argued that NSO broke the 2025 injunction barring it from using WhatsApp's infrastructure to target users. The motion leaned on a Meta investigator's declaration that 23 new WhatsApp accounts carried signatures Meta associates with NSO testing. The court found this wasn't "clear and convincing" evidence and said WhatsApp "took a calculated risk" by limiting detail to protect its detection methods. The injunction itself and the earlier judgment still stand. The ruling suggests platforms may have to reveal more about their detection methods to enforce anti-spyware injunctions.

Sources: [Court order (CourtListener, Dkt. 884)](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.350613/gov.uscourts.cand.350613.884.0.pdf) · [The Record (Oct 19)](https://therecord.media/whatsapp-denied-appeal-alleged-nso-group-violation-injunction)