Moroccan authorities have denied the “unjust and fanciful” accusations that “Rabat is a client of NSO,” as the ongoing California lawsuit on Pegasus spyware loses its relevance.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 in a California court, sought to hold Israeli company NSO Group accountable for exploiting Apple’s iOS platforms through so-called “zero-click” vulnerabilities.
Tech giants, Apple and Meta, accused NSO Group of creating “sophisticated, state-backed surveillance technologies,” about the Pegasus spyware developed by NSO.
Apple withdrew its lawsuit against NSO Group, citing “the increased risk that the legal battle could inadvertently reveal sensitive information about vulnerabilities.”
Amnesty International previously published unsubstantiated claims accusing Morocco of using Pegasus.
Moroccan authorities have repeatedly requested Amnesty to present evidence and arguments to back its “arbitrary accusations about Morocco’s possession and malicious use of Pegasus spyware against civil society activists,” stated the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights (DIDH) in a press release.
Morocco is aware that the NGO is “unable to provide irrefutable evidence or material proof to support its allegations.”