US authorities have reportedly investigated allegations that Meta can read encrypted messages on WhatsApp, according to a Bloomberg report. The claims stem from a lawsuit filed last week by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which alleges Meta 'can access virtually all' of WhatsApp users' supposedly private communications.
Meta has denied the allegations, calling them 'categorically false and absurd'. The company suggested the lawsuit is a tactic to support the NSO Group, an Israeli spyware firm that recently lost a case brought by WhatsApp. Meta is seeking sanctions against Quinn Emanuel, which is also representing NSO in an appeal.
Quinn Emanuel attributes the claims to unnamed whistleblowers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. However, experts have expressed scepticism. Professor Steven Murdoch of UCL said the lawsuit is 'a bit strange' and that if WhatsApp were reading messages, it would likely have leaked internally.
The US Department of Commerce denied investigating Meta or WhatsApp for export law violations, calling the assertions 'unsubstantiated'. WhatsApp maintains its end-to-end encryption ensures only senders and recipients can read messages, though it collects metadata such as contact lists and usage patterns.
