BANGKOK — A Thai court dismissed a lawsuit on Thursday filed by a pro-democracy activist who accused an Israeli technology company of employing spyware to hack his mobile phone.
The Civil Court in Bangkok determined that Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, known as Pai Dao Din, did not provide enough evidence proving that his device was compromised by the Pegasus spyware developed by NSO Group Technologies.
Jatupat had claimed that NSO Group infringed upon his constitutional rights, as well as those of other activists, by allegedly using Pegasus to target them and extract confidential information from their devices.
He contended that his phone had been infected on three separate occasions in 2021, coinciding with widespread protests against the government that featured unprecedented calls for reform of Thailand’s influential yet secretive monarchy.
The NSO Group did not respond immediately to an inquiry sent via email regarding the court’s decision.
A report released last year by Thai civil society organization iLaw, alongside the internet freedom group DigitalReach and Citizen Lab from Canada, revealed that 35 individuals in Thailand fell victim to government surveillance using Pegasus during 2020 and 2021. Many of those targeted were activists and academic figures.
Other activists have suggested that Thai government bodies were responsible for deploying Pegasus, although officials have refrained from making direct comments on this issue. When questioned by the opposition in Parliament in 2022, the government acknowledged that state agencies had utilized Pegasus for operations related to “security or narcotics.”
Following the court’s ruling, Jatupat, who was a prominent figure in the street protests of 2021, stated that he initiated the lawsuit to advocate for individual rights and freedoms.
“We fought for this because we wanted to prove whom the law will protect,” he asserted. “It is clear today that the court opted to safeguard state security.”
Sutawan Chanprasert from DigitalReach expressed disappointment over the ruling.
“I believe there is a valuable lesson here,” she noted, adding that the rationale provided by the court would help in preparing for future legal battles.
Amnesty International, which had provided support for Jatupat’s case and has scrutinized the global use of Pegasus spyware, characterized the ruling as “deeply alarming.”
“Nonetheless, it will not discourage us from fighting against the illegal use of spyware and seeking justice for its victims both in Thailand and globally,” the organization stated in their announcement.
NSO Group has previously maintained that it solely develops the spyware and does not dictate how it is used. Their products, including Pegasus, are typically licensed to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies for purposes related to terrorism investigations and serious crimes, according to information provided on the company’s official website.
