The company came to public attention after a series of investigations, which revealed that Pegasus would have allowed the spying of numerous journalists, politicians, activists or company heads from different countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
"These programs have allowed some foreign governments to extend repression beyond their borders to silence any dissonant voice," the US authorities said in a statement.
Practically, by being included on this blacklist, commercial exchange with the targeted companies is strongly restricted.
What is Pegasus
Once installed on the mobile phone, Pegasus allows spying on the user, accessing their messages, data or remotely activating the device to intercept sound or image.
It is a particularly sophisticated program that specifically allows devices to be hacked without the user clicking on links or trap buttons, the commonly used technique.
Pegasus software must, as military material, obtain an export license from the Israeli Ministry of Defense to be sold to a foreign country.
In total, according to Amnesty and Forbidden Stories, Pegasus has a list of 50,000 phone numbers from around the world selected since 2016 by NSO customers.
The USA is a great ally of Israel. But US President Joe Biden said that respecting human rights will be at the center of his foreign policy and that he is working "to end the proliferation of digital tools used for the purposes of repression", according to a statement from the State Department.
"This effort must serve to improve online security, combat cyber threats and reduce illegal surveillance," a spokesperson detailed.
UN experts have called for an international moratorium on the sale of surveillance technology until rules are established to protect human rights.