The U.S. House of Representatives has formally banned members of Congressional staff from using WhatsApp on government-issued devices, citing security concerns.
Development was first reported by Axios.
The decision was motivated by concerns about the security of the app, according to the House Chief Management Officer (CAO).
“The Cybersecurity office is considered WhatsApp for users due to the lack of ways to protect user data, the lack of data encryption at rest, and the lack of ways to protect the potential security risks that come with its use,” CAO said in a note according to Axios.
As such, house staff are prohibited from downloading apps on government-issued devices, such as mobile, desktop, or web browser versions.
WhatsApp disagrees with these concerns, saying that messages sent on the platform are end-to-end encrypted by default, providing a “higher level of security” than most apps on the CAO’s approved list.
“We do not agree to characterizing the highest administrative officers of the House on the strongest possible terms,” Meta’s communications director Andy Stone said in a post on social media site X.
“I know that members and their staff regularly use WhatsApp. I look forward to ensuring that members of the home can officially join Senate counterparts.”
As an “acceptable” alternative, CAO’s message recommends that staff use apps such as Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, Signal, Apple’s Imessage, and FaceTime. WhatsApp is the latest app banned by the home after Tiktok, Openai ChatGpt and Deepseek.
Last week, meta-owned messaging apps said they bring advertising to monetize the platform, but emphasized that they will be done without sacrificing user privacy.
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