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A federal judge in California dismissed Salvadoran journalists’ lawsuit against NSO Group on September 30, 2026, ruling that the court lacked personal jurisdiction. The ruling does not decide whether the alleged Pegasus surveillance happened as described or whether it was lawful. The journalists’ lawyers said they intend to appeal; the sources reviewed do not confirm that an appeal has been filed.

What the judge decided

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed Dada v. NSO Group for lack of personal jurisdiction on September 30, 2026. The judgment records that judgment was entered against the plaintiffs under the dismissal order. In practical terms, the case was dismissed because of the court’s jurisdiction over the defendants—not because the court resolved the underlying surveillance allegations.

What the lawsuit alleged

Current and former journalists and other members of Salvadoran news organization El Faro sued NSO Group and its parent company. Their complaint alleged that the companies developed and sold Pegasus spyware and assisted its deployment against them, in violation of U.S. law. Those allegations were not adjudicated as true or false in this dismissal.

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The Knight First Amendment Institute, which represented the journalists, says El Faro employees experienced 226 Pegasus infections between June 2020 and November 2021. The Institute says the attacks remotely and surreptitiously accessed iPhones and monitored communications and activities. This is the Institute’s account, not a finding made by the court in the jurisdictional ruling.

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Why California was part of the dispute

The Record reported that the plaintiffs argued the attacks used compromised infrastructure located in California. That was the plaintiffs’ jurisdictional argument; it should not be read as a court finding that NSO Group’s conduct took place in California. The stated basis for dismissal was lack of personal jurisdiction. The accessible account of the ruling does not provide enough of the court’s detailed reasoning to explain more precisely how it evaluated the jurisdictional question.

How the case reached this dismissal

  1. The district court dismissed the case earlier.

  2. The Ninth Circuit vacated that dismissal and remanded the matter for further consideration.

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  3. On September 30, 2026, the district court dismissed the case again, this time for lack of personal jurisdiction.

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Can the journalists appeal?

Yes. The Knight First Amendment Institute said it intended to appeal the latest dismissal. Carrie DeCell, a senior staff attorney and legislative advisor at the Institute, said: “The court’s decision is disappointing, but we intend to appeal.” That statement expresses the plaintiffs’ counsel’s position; the sources reviewed do not establish that a new appeal has been filed.

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