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Dadparvar
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Several large tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, and LinkedIn filed Monday an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Facebook’s lawsuit against Israeli surveillance company NSO.
NSO creates cyber-surveillance tools, which it then sells to foreign governments and other customers. Those customers can use the tools to track individuals’ locations, read their texts, and gather other private information. NSO sought immunity from any laws which make it illegal to access devices without proper authorization, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. To justify this immunity, NSO sought to expand common-law foreign sovereign immunity to cover private company actions on behalf of foreign governments.
Facebook filed suit in October 2019, alleging NSO had developed a tool to spy on WhatsApp messages from diplomats, human rights activists, and political dissidents. In July 2020, US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton allowed the lawsuit to proceed, despite NSO’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
On Monday, tech companies Microsoft, Google, Cisco Systems, GitHub, LinkedIn Corporation, VMware, and Internet Association filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit. In the brief, the companies warned that NSO’s tools were “powerful, and dangerous.” The companies also argued that allowing NSO and similar companies to use cyber-surveillance tools across US systems created large-scale, systemic cybersecurity risk. They claim that expanding immunity to companies such as NSO would increase the number of companies and governments with access to surveillance tools and would increase the use of such tools. The increased access to and use of the surveillance tools would, in turn, cause “extensive damage” to US cybersecurity and its citizens’ privacy.
Because of this, the companies argued that private companies should be liable for using cyber-surveillance tools in violation of US law, regardless of their customers’ identities. In the brief, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Customer Security and Trust Tom Burt stated:
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NSO creates cyber-surveillance tools, which it then sells to foreign governments and other customers. Those customers can use the tools to track individuals’ locations, read their texts, and gather other private information. NSO sought immunity from any laws which make it illegal to access devices without proper authorization, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. To justify this immunity, NSO sought to expand common-law foreign sovereign immunity to cover private company actions on behalf of foreign governments.
Facebook filed suit in October 2019, alleging NSO had developed a tool to spy on WhatsApp messages from diplomats, human rights activists, and political dissidents. In July 2020, US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton allowed the lawsuit to proceed, despite NSO’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
On Monday, tech companies Microsoft, Google, Cisco Systems, GitHub, LinkedIn Corporation, VMware, and Internet Association filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit. In the brief, the companies warned that NSO’s tools were “powerful, and dangerous.” The companies also argued that allowing NSO and similar companies to use cyber-surveillance tools across US systems created large-scale, systemic cybersecurity risk. They claim that expanding immunity to companies such as NSO would increase the number of companies and governments with access to surveillance tools and would increase the use of such tools. The increased access to and use of the surveillance tools would, in turn, cause “extensive damage” to US cybersecurity and its citizens’ privacy.
Because of this, the companies argued that private companies should be liable for using cyber-surveillance tools in violation of US law, regardless of their customers’ identities. In the brief, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Customer Security and Trust Tom Burt stated:
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It’s an important month for nonprofits like JURIST that rely on donor support. Your gift of $50, $100, $200, or $500 will help JURIST to keep its legal news and commentary free and accessible to a worldwide public.
Thanks for your support!
DONATE NOW
The post Microsoft, Google join Facebook lawsuit against Israel hacking company NSO appeared first on JURIST - News - Legal News & Commentary.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.