Meta Platforms’ widely used messaging platform, WhatsApp, has been banned from all United States House of Representatives devices, starting Monday, an internal memo sent to House staff said.
The ban is based on “high risk” security issues regarding the app’s handling of data and encryption techniques.
The chief administrative officer’s notice, made by the Office of Cybersecurity, read that WhatsApp is a big risk to users “because of the lack of transparency with which it safeguards user data, lack of encryption of stored data, and possible security concerns associated with its use.”
The memo called for House staff to switch over to other messaging apps. Suggested platforms are Microsoft Corp’s Teams, Amazon.com’s Wickr, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, all of which presumably possess the House’s required level of security.
Meta objected to the switch “in the strongest possible terms,” a company spokesperson stated, adding that the platform offers a greater degree of security than the other approved apps.
In January, a WhatsApp spokesperson reported that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had attacked dozens of its users, ranging from journalists to members of civil society.
The House has previously banned other apps from staff devices, including the short video app TikTok in 2022, citing security concerns.
Earlier, WhatsApp voiced concern that Iran would block its services after the state broadcaster urged the public to delete the app, accusing it of sharing data with arch-rival Israel.
State television IRIB called on Iranians on June 17 to uninstall WhatsApp from their phones, claiming that the app gathered users’ personal information and “last known locations and communications”, and transmitted them to Israel.
On June 18, Israeli and Iranian forces clashed for the sixth consecutive day, with Israel claiming to have attacked a nuclear facility close to Tehran.
