Pegasus Lawsuit by El Salvador Journalists Dismissed by US Court; Appeal Planned
PRESS FREEDOM · EL SALVADOR
Key Facts
- —The country El Salvador, where reporters at the investigative outlet El Faro say spyware was placed on their iPhones between June 2020 and November 2021.
- —What happened On 30 September 2026 a US federal judge in California dismissed their Pegasus lawsuit against NSO Group, the Israeli maker of the spyware, for lack of jurisdiction.
- —The numbers The suit alleges at least 226 Pegasus infections and at least 22 of El Faro’s 35 employees targeted (Knight Institute, Courthouse News, 30 September 2026).
- —What it means for you No US court has ruled on whether the hacking happened. The decision concerns only where the case can be heard.
- —Still open Lawyers for the journalists say they will appeal. A federal appeals court revived the same case once before, in July 2025.
A US federal judge has dismissed the Pegasus lawsuit brought by journalists from El Faro, an investigative news outlet in El Salvador. They sued NSO Group, the Israeli company that makes the Pegasus spyware, saying it was used to hack their phones.
Judge James Donato ruled on Wednesday 30 September that a California court has no jurisdiction over NSO. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which represents the journalists, said they intend to appeal.
Why the Pegasus lawsuit was thrown out
Donato sits on the US District Court for the Northern District of California, a federal trial court. His 10-page ruling found that NSO had no case-specific link to California, Courthouse News reported.
“None of this has anything to do with California,” Donato wrote. He described the claims as spyware supplied “to an unnamed government outside the United States” to reach phones in El Salvador.
The journalists had filed in California because Apple is based there. They argued that NSO used Apple servers to deliver the attacks.
Donato said the complaint never squarely alleged that those servers were in California. Nor did it allege that NSO knew where they were, he wrote.
A partial win on the forum question
The ruling was not one-sided. NSO had also argued that another country’s courts were a better venue, a doctrine known as forum non conveniens.
Donato rejected that argument, writing that NSO “did not come close” to meeting its burden. The case failed only on personal jurisdiction, a question about the defendant’s ties to the state.
Second dismissal in a case filed in 2022
The Knight Institute filed the suit on 30 November 2022. It says this was the first case brought by journalists against NSO in a US court.
Donato first dismissed it in 2024, finding it belonged in Israel or El Salvador. On 8 July 2025 the Ninth Circuit, the federal appeals court for the western states, revived it.
The appeals panel noted that one plaintiff is a US citizen and two are US residents. This time Donato found those ties did not change the outcome. No phone was shown to have been hacked inside the United States, he wrote.
What the journalists allege
According to the Knight Institute, El Faro staff suffered at least 226 Pegasus infections between June 2020 and November 2021. The suit says the attacks grew more intense around major El Faro stories.
The journalists want NSO to name the clients who ordered the surveillance and to delete the data taken. NSO was placed on a US government blacklist in 2021 and did not answer Courthouse News.
Press freedom in El Salvador is a live issue under President Nayib Bukele, profiled in Who Is Nayib Bukele? El Salvador’s President Explained. The country votes on 28 February 2027, as covered in El Salvador Electoral Court Calls 28 February 2027 Vote.
What Is Not Yet Known
It is not yet clear when the appeal will be filed or how quickly the Ninth Circuit could hear it. The court record does not name the government that allegedly bought the spyware.
NSO has not commented publicly on the ruling. Whether the Pegasus lawsuit could be refiled in Israel or El Salvador instead is also unresolved.
Sources: Knight First Amendment Institute, press statement (30 September 2026); US District Court, N.D. California, Dada v. NSO Group opinion (30 September 2026); Knight First Amendment Institute, Dada v. NSO Group case page; Courthouse News (30 September 2026).
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