US authorities have investigated allegations that Meta can access users' supposedly encrypted WhatsApp conversations, according to Bloomberg reports. The claims emerged from a lawsuit filed by Quinn Emanuel law firm, citing unnamed whistleblowers from five countries who allege Meta can read "virtually all" private WhatsApp chats.
Meta strongly denies the accusations, calling them "categorically false and absurd." The company suggests this is a tactic to help NSO Group, the Israeli spyware firm that recently lost a $167 million judgment to WhatsApp for targeting journalists and activists.
Security experts remain skeptical. UCL professor Steven Murdoch called the lawsuit "strange," noting such a massive privacy breach would likely have leaked from within the company by now.
Source: The Guardian