Meta sued over allegedly misleading claims about WhatsApp privacy

A group of plaintiffs from several countries has filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of misleading users about the privacy and security of WhatsApp. Bloomberg reports that the complaint was submitted to the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

The plaintiffs claim that Meta’s statements about end-to-end encryption are false. According to the filing, the company and WhatsApp’s management allegedly have the technical ability to store, analyze, and access most conversations that are marketed as private.

The lawsuit argues that such practices mislead billions of users worldwide who rely on WhatsApp’s assurances that only the participants in a chat can read their messages.

The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. The complaint cites information from unnamed “whistleblowers,” whose identities have not been disclosed. The legal team is seeking class-action status, which would allow the case to represent all affected WhatsApp users.

In response, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone called the allegations “false and absurd.” He stated that WhatsApp has been using the Signal encryption protocol for over a decade and that claims about the company being able to access users’ messages are unfounded. Meta also said it intends to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers for filing what it described as a “frivolous” lawsuit.