WhatsApp under fire: New lawsuit claims your ‘private’ messages aren't secret

A new class action lawsuit has been filed against Meta Platforms Inc., WhatsApp and Accenture, alleging that the companies wrongfully intercepted and accessed private messages despite marketing the platform as “end-to-end encrypted.” However, plaintiffs Brian Y. Shirazi and Nida Samson claim that WhatsApp’s privacy promises are misleading.

Whistleblowers reportedly informed federal investigators that Meta employees and third-party contractors had broad access to the substance of messages that were supposed to be inaccessible. The lawsuit argues that Meta and WhatsApp never asked for-nor received-user consent to read, store, or share private information with third parties.

The plaintiffs highlight that WhatsApp’s own marketing materials explicitly state “not even WhatsApp" can see personal messages, a claim the lawsuit describes as fraudulent.

“Whistleblowers have informed federal investigators that Meta employees and third-party contractors had ‘broad access to the substance of WhatsApp messages that were supposed to be encrypted and inaccessible,” the class action lawsuit states.

“WhatsApp’s secret interception, reading, storing, accessing and/or viewing of the messages it ensured plaintiffs and similarly situated class members were private, including without adequate disclosure to plaintiffs and class members, constitutes a serious invasion of plaintiffs’ and class members’ privacy,” further added.

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and seeking significant financial recovery, including statutory, compensatory, and punitive damages for all affected class members. They are also requesting injunctive relief to stop the alleged privacy violations. The filing comes on the heels of other legal challenges for Meta; just last month, the company was sued for allegedly facilitating a stock pump-and-dump scheme that cost investors millions.