A federal judge has approved WhatsApp’s request, owned by Meta, for a permanent injunction preventing Israeli cyberintelligence firm NSO Group from targeting users of the messaging application. Concurrently, the judge significantly reduced the fine that NSO Group must pay to Meta.

Earlier this year, a jury ruled that NSO Group would owe Meta over $167 million following a 2019 operation that affected more than 1,400 WhatsApp users, which included human rights defenders and journalists. 

However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton determined on Friday that there was insufficient evidence to classify NSO Group’s actions as “particularly egregious,” thus limiting the punitive damages ratio to 9 to 1, bringing the payment down to approximately $4 million.

In a statement to Courthouse News Service, WhatsApp Head Will Cathart remarked that the ruling “prohibits spyware creator NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our users worldwide again.”

“We commend this decision that follows six years of litigation aimed at holding NSO accountable for its targeting of civil society members,” Cathart stated.

NSO Group has recently announced its acquisition by U.S. investors.