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   Meta hits back after US House staffers banned from using WhatsApp over   
   security fears   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:07:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   US Congress workers are to be asked to remove WhatsApp from all   
   government-issued devices, and Meta isn't happy.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The US House's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) has banned WhatsApp from    
   all government devices used by congressional staffers amid growing security   
   concerns.    
      
   A Axios report claims the warning cited a lack of transparency surrounding   
   data protection as a key motivation behind the ban, while also noting the   
   absence of stored data encryption, raising potential security risks    
   associated with WhatsApp use.    
      
   The ban will affect all versions of WhatsApp, including the mobile app,   
   desktop app and web browser versions. US Congress workers asked to remove   
   WhatsApp    
      
   Staffers with WhatsApp on House-managed devices will be contacted to remove   
   the app, according to the report.    
      
   Although tech bans are nothing new to US government workers, most have been   
   related to ongoing geopolitical tensions  DeepSeek and ByteDance are two   
   Chinese platforms that have been banned. However, workers have also been   
   restricted from using Microsoft Copilot, and only certain paid versions of   
   ChatGPT may be used.    
      
   "The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to   
   the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data   
   encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use," the CAO   
   explained to Axios .    
      
   Meta spokesperson Andy Stone challenged the Congressional ban of WhatsApp,   
   wroting on X, "We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we   
   look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate   
   counterparts in doing so officially."    
      
   "We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officers characterization in   
   the strongest possible terms."    
      
   Stone also noted that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted by default,   
   which is more than can be said about a number of other CAO-approved apps.    
      
   Although one communication platform has been banned, the CAO explained that   
   other alternatives remain viable, including Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal,   
   iMessage and FaceTime.    
      
   The news comes shortly after the Scottish government also banned WhatsApp   
   (instead preferring certain enterprise messaging apps ), but that move    
   relates to the deletion of messages by workers, as highlighted in the Covid   
   enquiry.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/meta-hits-back-after-us-house-staffers-banned-fr   
   om-using-whatsapp-over-security-fears   
      
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