The US House of Representatives bans the messaging app WhatsApp for its staff. They are concerned about the app’s cybersecurity.
The United States House of Representatives has banned the messaging app WhatsApp from all devices of the US House, according to Reuters. This was revealed in a memo sent to staff on Monday. The House is concerned about the application’s cybersecurity. Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, told Reuters that it disagrees “in the strongest possible terms” with the House.
Ban on WhatsApp
The memo received by House staff on Monday states that the “Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high risk to users due to a lack of transparency in how it protects user data, the absence of encryption of stored data, and potential security risks associated with its use.”
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The memo is also said to include suggestions for other messaging apps recommended by the chief administrative officer. These include Microsoft Teams, Amazon, Wickr, Signal, and Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
Meta disagrees
Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, disagrees with this decision. The company claims that the platform offers a higher level of security than the other approved apps. Although WhatsApp is not known as the most privacy-friendly, it recently added extra privacy features to the messaging app.