On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and its messaging platform WhatsApp, accusing the companies of misleading users about the strength and scope of the app’s encryption protections.
Texas Accuses WhatsApp Of Misleading Users About Encryption
Filed in Harrison County court, the lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp falsely marketed its platform as secure and fully encrypted while Meta allegedly retained access to “virtually all” private user communications.
“WhatsApp markets its services as secure and encrypted, but it does not deliver on those promises,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The complaint seeks monetary penalties and a court order preventing Meta and WhatsApp from accessing Texans’ messages without user consent.
Meta Denies Claims In Texas Privacy Lawsuit
Meta pushed back against the allegations, calling the claims inaccurate.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said on X that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption prevents the company from viewing users’ private conversations.
Stone said the lawsuit’s allegations are “false” and maintained that WhatsApp cannot access encrypted communications exchanged on the platform.
Lawsuit Cites Federal Probe, Whistleblower Complaint
Texas based its lawsuit in part on media reports concerning a federal investigation into WhatsApp’s data practices, along with a whistleblower complaint reportedly submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The case was filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a major consumer protection law in the state.
The lawsuit marks the latest privacy-focused legal action from Paxton’s office against major technology companies.
Earlier this month, Texas sued Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) over allegations tied to consumer data collection, while Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google previously agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle privacy-related claims brought by the state.
Price Action: Meta traded at $607.38, up 0.38% in regular trading and slipped to $606.50 in pre-market, down 0.14%, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Meta is in the 89th percentile for Growth, but continues to show a negative trend across the short, medium and long-term timeframes.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
Recent Comments