A woman passes by a WhatsApp logo at a Meta event in Mumbai, India, on September 20, 2023.
Niharika Kulkarni | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Meta is contesting a prohibition on WhatsApp use on government devices.
The chief administrative officer (CAO) of the U.S. House of Representatives informed staff on Monday that the popular messaging app by Meta is off-limits. The CAO pointed to concerns over WhatsApp’s data privacy and security as the reason behind the ban, according to an Axios report referencing an internal email from the government office.
In the email, the CAO instructed House staff that they can neither install WhatsApp on their government devices nor use the app on their smartphones or desktop systems. Staff members must eliminate WhatsApp from their devices if it’s already installed, as stated in the report.
“Our highest priority is safeguarding the People’s House, and we are continuously assessing potential cybersecurity threats that could compromise the data of House Members and their staff,” U.S. House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor stated to CNBC in a written communication.
Meta’s spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the news on Monday through a post on X, expressing that the company strongly disagrees with the characterization made by the House Chief Administrative Officer.
“We recognize that many members and their staff frequently use WhatsApp, and we are eager to facilitate official use for House members, just as their Senate counterparts do,” Stone said.
In another post on X, Stone highlighted that WhatsApp’s encryption offers a “higher level of security than most apps on the CAO’s approved list, which lack such protection.”
According to the Axios report, acceptable alternatives to WhatsApp named by the CAO include Microsoft Teams, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage.
The CAO did not provide comments when CNBC reached out for a statement.
Meta is currently involved in an antitrust lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the company’s past acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.
Recently, Meta introduced advertisements in WhatsApp as part of an initiative to monetize the app, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has termed “the next chapter” in the company’s evolution.
