Whistleblowers Challenge WhatsApp's Core Privacy Promise
International lawsuit alleges Meta falsely claims WhatsApp encryption protects messages. Asian enterprises face mounting platform security concerns amid API flaws.
An international group of plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms on Friday, alleging the company made false claims about WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption. The suit, filed in a US District Court in San Francisco, includes plaintiffs from India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa, and challenges the foundational privacy promises underlying WhatsApp's global adoption.
Encryption Claims Under Fire
WhatsApp has long promoted end-to-end encryption as a core security feature, with in-app messaging stating that "only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share" communications. The company has consistently maintained that messages remain inaccessible to Meta itself.
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The lawsuit contends these privacy claims are false. Plaintiffs allege that Meta and WhatsApp "store, analyze, and can access virtually all of WhatsApp users' purportedly 'private' communications," accusing the companies of defrauding billions of users worldwide. The complaint suggests Meta stores the substance of users' communications and that employees can access them.
The lawsuit cites unnamed "whistleblowers" as sources for these allegations, though their identities and specific evidence remain undisclosed. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan leads the legal team seeking class-action certification for the suit, potentially representing WhatsApp's global user base.
Meta Denies Allegations
Meta has strongly rejected the claims. Spokesperson Andy Stone called the lawsuit "frivolous" and "a frivolous work of fiction," stating any claim that WhatsApp messages aren't encrypted is "categorically false and absurd." Stone emphasized that WhatsApp has used end-to-end encryption via the Signal protocol for a decade. The company indicated it will pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs' counsel.
Asian Enterprise Implications
The lawsuit arrives as Asian enterprises face mounting platform security concerns. WhatsApp Business dominates customer communications in Southeast Asia, with 90% or higher daily usage rates in Malaysia and Indonesia.
A 2025 WhatsApp Business API flaw exposed 3.5 billion users' metadata, including phone numbers and profile details, despite encryption protections. The vulnerability allowed bulk scraping of user profiles across Asia, forcing Meta to restrict platform access.
Concurrently, Southeast Asian scam networks prompted removal of 6.8 million WhatsApp accounts in the first half of 2025. These criminal operations exploited platform vulnerabilities to generate 16% of global scam traffic by mid-2025, according to internal Meta documents.
Regulatory Pressure Mounts
The encryption lawsuit adds to growing regulatory scrutiny of WhatsApp Business operations. Ofcom launched an investigation into Meta's incomplete disclosures about WhatsApp Business data practices, impacting Asian enterprises using the platform as an SMS alternative for customer communications.
Separately, the European Commission opened an antitrust probe in 2025 examining WhatsApp Business AI policies, adding pressure alongside the encryption dispute.
Internal Meta documents also revealed that 19% of the company's 2024 China advertising revenue, exceeding $3 billion, came from scam and illegal content on WhatsApp and other platforms, despite China's ban on these services.
The plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking class-action certification, which could expand the case's scope significantly. Multiple attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Keller Postman, and Barnett Legal are representing the plaintiffs, though they have declined to comment on the case.
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