Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took legal action against Meta Platforms and WhatsApp for allegedly misleading consumers about how the messaging app’s encryption works. The action was filed last Thursday (21) in Harrison County, in the United States. You can read the official process document clicking here.
According to the accusation, the companies had led millions of users to believe that only the sender and recipient could access the content of conversations, although internal investigations and reports pointed to the possibility of viewing messages through the platform itself.
The lawsuit calls for measures to prevent access to Texan users’ communications without consent, in addition to the application of financial penalties. Meta refuted the allegations and stated that WhatsApp cannot read messages protected by end-to-end encryption.
For those in a hurry:
- Texas accuses WhatsApp and Meta of distorting the real scope of the encryption used in the messaging app;
- Legal action cites investigations, internal complaints and reports about possible platform access to private conversations;
- Case expands the Texas attorney general’s offensive against large technology companies linked to the use of personal data.
State of Texas questions WhatsApp’s privacy promises
The lawsuit was filed under Texas consumer protection legislation and claims that WhatsApp built its public image around the promise of absolute security in conversations.
According to the court text, the company advertised the service as being fully protected by end-to-end encryption, a mechanism that would prevent any external access to the content of the messages.
The Prosecutor’s Office states, however, that investigations and reports from employees indicated a different scenario from that presented to users. Depending on the process, employees linked to the platform would have been able to access private communications, while other investigations would indicate that content could be retrieved and viewed after sending the messages.
In a statement released after the lawsuit was filed Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that the people of Texas have the right to know whether conversations held on the app are truly private. “WhatsApp promotes its services as secure and encrypted, but does not deliver on these promises”, declared the head of the body responsible for the legal action.
Paxton also stated that the measure seeks to prevent practices considered misleading related to the processing of personal data and communications. According to him, the action aims to protect Texan users against improper access to private conversations carried out without consumers’ knowledge.
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Meta responded to the allegations through spokesperson Andy Stone. According to Reuters he classified the allegations presented by Texas as false and stated that WhatsApp does not have the ability to access messages protected by the platform’s encryption.
The process also mentions reports about a federal investigation related to Meta’s possible access to messages without cryptographic protection, in addition to a complaint sent to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, by a whistleblower linked to the case.
The judicial offensive is part of a series of recent actions carried out by Ken Paxton’s office against companies in the technology sector. The text mentions previous processes involving data privacy issues, including a lawsuit against Netflix and an agreement signed with LG.
Source: www.olhardigital.com.br
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