After Iran, now the US Parliament banned WhatsApp from all government devices. According to reports, threats related to data security and cyber security are the main reasons behind this decision. Now the question here arises does the US government no longer trust the products and companies of its own country?

Serious concern about security

According to the report of Reuters and Axios, on Monday, a memo was sent to all the staff by the House Cybersecurity Office, in which WhatsApp was described as a "high-risk app". The memo said that WhatsApp does not show transparency regarding the security of user data. There is no encryption of the data stored in it. Its use increases the risk of cyber-attacks and data leaks.

Now WhatsApp will have to be removed from the phone.

Parliament employees have been instructed to remove WhatsApp from all House-managed devices. Whether it is on a mobile phone, computer, or web browser. The CAO wrote in the email, "If you have WhatsApp on your device, you will be contacted to remove it."

Which apps got a place?
The government has suggested some secure messaging platforms in place of WhatsApp, such as Signal, Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Apple iMessage, and FaceTime. Staff have also been asked to be alert about phishing attacks and suspicious messages from unknown numbers.

Meta protested

WhatsApp's parent company Meta Platforms has lodged a strong protest against this decision. Company spokesperson Andy Stone said, "We completely disagree with the explanation given by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House regarding the security of WhatsApp." He said that messages in WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, which even WhatsApp cannot see, while many such apps in the CAO's list do not have this security. Meta hopes that in the future WhatsApp will be allowed to be used in Parliament like the US Senate.

Concern over WhatsApp in Iran too
Earlier, Iran had also appealed to its citizens to remove WhatsApp. There were fears that location and other sensitive data could be leaked to foreign agencies, especially the Israeli military, via WhatsApp, however, Iranian state media did not provide any evidence of this claim. Meta also rejected this allegation outright.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.