Meta Platforms, Inc. is facing a major lawsuit from an international group of plaintiffs who claim the company misled users about the privacy and security of its WhatsApp messaging service. The plaintiffs allege that Meta and WhatsApp “store, analyze, and can access virtually all” supposedly private communications, accusing the tech giant of defrauding billions of users worldwide.
A spokesperson for Meta strongly rejected the claims, calling the lawsuit “frivolous” and saying the company plans to pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs’ counsel. Andy Stone, Meta’s spokesperson, emphasized that “any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” noting that the platform has used end-to-end encryption for over a decade.
WhatsApp’s encryption is designed to ensure that only the sender and recipient can read or listen to messages, with Meta claiming it has no access to the content. Within the app, messages display a notice stating, “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” them. The plaintiffs argue that, despite these assurances, Meta can access users’ chats.
The lawsuit includes plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa, highlighting the global concern over digital privacy. The complaint references whistleblowers who allegedly provided insight into Meta’s internal practices, though the identities of these sources remain undisclosed.
Filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the case seeks class-action certification, potentially affecting millions of WhatsApp users. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs include firms Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Keller Postman, while Meta maintains its position that the allegations are false. The legal battle over WhatsApp’s privacy practices is now officially underway.
source: bloomberg