The U.S. House of Representatives has officially banned the use of WhatsApp on all congressional-issued devices, citing serious cybersecurity and data privacy concerns.
The announcement was shared in a memo sent to House staff on Monday by the Office of Cybersecurity.
According to the memo, WhatsApp was flagged as a “high risk” due to its lack of transparency in data protection practices, the absence of stored data encryption, and other potential security vulnerabilities. The office recommended alternative platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Amazon Wickr, Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, and Signal for official communication.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of WhatsApp, pushed back against the decision. A Meta spokesperson said the company “disagreed in the strongest possible terms,” arguing that WhatsApp offers greater security protections than some of the apps approved by the House.
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