The U.S. House of Representatives has banned WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform owned by Meta Platforms, from all official government-issued devices, citing data security concerns.
According to a memo issued Monday by the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, the House’s Office of Cybersecurity flagged WhatsApp as a “high risk” app.
Reuters reported that the memo pointed to several issues, including a lack of transparency in how the platform protects user data, the absence of stored data encryption, and broader potential security vulnerabilities.
As a result, lawmakers and staff have been advised to uninstall WhatsApp and switch to alternative messaging platforms deemed safer. These include Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
Meta reacts
Meta has strongly objected to the decision. A spokesperson for the company said, “We disagree with this decision in the strongest possible terms,” arguing that WhatsApp offers stronger security features than many of the approved alternatives.
The move comes amid growing scrutiny of messaging and social media platforms by U.S. lawmakers and cybersecurity officials. In January, WhatsApp disclosed that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had targeted several of its users, including journalists and civil society members.
This is not the first time the U.S. House has taken such action. In 2022, TikTok was banned from government devices due to similar concerns about data privacy and national security.
“TikTok is considered ‘high risk due to a number of security issues,” the House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) had said in a message sent to all lawmakers and staff at the time, adding that it must be deleted from all devices managed by the House.
What you should know
Despite the security concerns around the app, WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps globally.
Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during the company’s Q1 earnings call that WhatsApp has joined the rarefied club of apps with over 3 billion monthly active users.
- The milestone places WhatsApp alongside its sibling app, Facebook, as one of the few platforms in the world to cross the 3 billion user threshold.
- Founded in 2009 and acquired by Meta (then Facebook) in 2014 for $19 billion, WhatsApp has grown steadily without ads or subscription fees.
- The app reached 2 billion monthly users in 2020 and has now added another billion in just four years, cementing its dominance in global messaging.
- This massive user base is becoming increasingly important as Meta pivots towards artificial intelligence.
