WhatsApp, its owner Meta✴, and the consulting firm Accenture are now defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed in a California federal court, according to a report from Cybernews. Plaintiffs allege that these companies intercepted and shared private messages with outside parties, contradicting their claims of end-to-end encrypted chats. Against the backdrop of this controversy, rivals Elon Musk and Pavel Durov have publicly denounced the messaging app’s security practices.
The lawsuit contends that although WhatsApp and Meta✴ market the messenger as a secure platform featuring end-to-end encryption, they are, in reality, intercepting, retaining, and reviewing users’ private communications. The plaintiffs, identified as Brian Y. Shirazi and Nida Samson, view this as a significant trespass on personal privacy and a breach of privacy statutes. Court documents suggest that Meta✴ personnel and contractors were granted extensive access to messages that should have remained encrypted and inaccessible. Furthermore, the filing claims the corporations permitted external entities to view WhatsApp users’ messages without receiving user consent.
Musk, who has a noted history of friction with Meta✴ CEO Mark Zuckerberg, responded to the lawsuit by posting on his social media platform X, stating, “You can’t trust WhatsApp.” He had previously voiced criticism of the messenger, labeling it insecure. Durov, for his part, asserted that WhatsApp’s encryption “might be the biggest consumer deception in history.” He accused WhatsApp of “tricking billions of users” and emphasized that “Telegram has never and will never do this.”
WhatsApp staunchly refuted the allegations, characterizing them as untrue and preposterous. In an official statement, the company stressed that the messenger employs end-to-end encryption based on the Signal protocol.
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