Staff are advised to switch to alternatives like Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage, and FaceTime, which are considered more secure.
The U.S. House of Representatives has banned WhatsApp from all House-issued devices, citing security concerns.
A memo from the Chief Administrative Officer’s Office of Cybersecurity labeled WhatsApp a “high risk” app due to issues including “insufficient transparency,” lack of stored data encryption, and general security vulnerabilities.
Staff are advised to switch to alternatives like Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage, and FaceTime, which are considered more secure.
Meta disputed the ban, saying WhatsApp “offers stronger security features than some of the other recommended applications” and rejected the decision “in the strongest possible terms.”
This move follows similar bans, such as TikTok in 2022. It also comes after a WhatsApp executive said in January that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had targeted users, including journalists, raising alarms over cyber threats.