The House Chief Administrative Officer banned WhatsApp on all House-managed devices due to data security risks and lack of transparency in data protection.
The Office of Cybersecurity flagged WhatsApp as high-risk because it doesn’t encrypt stored data and poses potential security vulnerabilities.
Staffers must remove WhatsApp and use approved alternatives like Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage, or FaceTime.
Meta disputes the ban, arguing WhatsApp’s default end-to-end encryption offers stronger privacy than many approved apps.
Get notified when new stories are published for "🇺🇸 Hacker News English"