Meta Under Fire as Congress Cites WhatsApp Security Flaws

News Desk

Islamabad: The US House of Representatives has officially banned the use of WhatsApp on all government-issued devices, citing serious cybersecurity concerns, according to a memo circulated to House staff on Monday.

The Office of Cybersecurity warned that the Meta-owned messaging app poses a “high risk” due to a lack of transparency regarding data protection practices, absence of stored data encryption, and other potential security vulnerabilities.

The advisory, issued by the House’s Chief Administrative Officer, urged staff to switch to alternative communication tools deemed more secure, including Microsoft Teams, Amazon Wickr, Signal, Apple iMessage, and FaceTime.

Meta strongly objected to the decision. A company spokesperson said, “We disagree with this assessment in the strongest possible terms,” claiming WhatsApp offers stronger security measures than some of the approved alternatives.

The decision follows previous concerns over surveillance and data misuse. In January, a WhatsApp executive disclosed that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had targeted several users, including journalists and civil society members.

The move adds WhatsApp to a growing list of apps restricted on House devices. In 2022, the video-sharing platform TikTok was similarly banned due to national security concerns.