WhatsApp Encryption Under Fire: Class Action Lawsuit Sparks Privacy Concerns
Meta has had an issue with privacy, starting with Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica controversy of the previous decade. Though it has gone about improving its image on this front, fresh accusations have now come in a segment of its universe where privacy is especially treasured.
WhatsApp has always been touted as end-to-end encrypted, which means that the company itself could not access the content sent over the platform. A class action suit has just been filed against WhatsApp in San Francisco by a group of plaintiffs from different countries alleging that a backdoor was left open to access messages. It claims that whistleblowers gave them this information and that the process for Meta employees to get anyone’s messages was very simple. Elon Musk, the owner of X, too got into the issue with a post on his platform that said, “WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable. Use X Chat.”
Meta has denied the allegations. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, replied to Musk’s post on X stating: “This is totally false. WhatsApp can’t read messages because the encryption keys are stored on your phone and we don’t have access to them. This is a no-merit, headline-seeking lawsuit brought by the very same firm defending NSO [an Israeli cyber intelligence company] after their spyware attacked journalists and government officials.”