Law reform advocate Yingcheep Atchanont and human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa accuse nine state agencies in the administration of Prime Minister
They requested an immediate court injunction barring the use of Pegasus against them and other citizens, and for the court to order the government to release the data on its use of Pegasus. They also demanded compensation of
Pegasus spyware can be installed remotely onto a target’s phone without the target having to click any links or download software to become infected. It can obtain any data on the devices, including contact lists and group chats, making it very useful for surveillance of political activists and groups.
NSO Group’s products, including the Pegasus software, are typically licensed only to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to investigate terrorism and serious crime, according to the company’s website. Cybersecurity researchers have tracked the use of the spyware in 45 countries and claim those guidelines are not always honored.
The company has rejected accusations that its snooping software helped lead to the killing of
The
Among the agencies named in the Thai lawsuit are the
The lawsuit alleges that Yingcheep’s phone was penetrated at least 10 times by the spyware, while Arnon’s was attacked at least five times from late 2020 to late 2021. That's when pro-democracy protests erupted across
An investigation last year by international internet watchdog groups including Canada’s
Yingcheep, director of non-profit Internet Law Reform Dialogue or iLaw, is a staunch critic of what many consider to be repressive laws issued under the government led by Prayuth, who as army commander in 2014 led a coup ousting an elected government. Arnon is one of the most outspoken advocates for reform of the monarchy.
“You can see that this is one of the legacies of
In 2022, the spyware became a subject of censure debates. Opposition lawmakers accused Prayuth's government of spending millions of dollars from the national budget on spyware, including Pegasus, to spy on citizens.
In response, Digital Economy Minister
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