The U.S. House of Representatives has officially banned Meta’s WhatsApp messaging app from all government-issued devices, citing serious cybersecurity concerns. The decision was communicated to House staff on Monday through a memo from the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.
According to the memo, the Office of Cybersecurity labeled WhatsApp a “high risk” platform due to its lack of transparency around data protection, absence of stored data encryption, and other potential security vulnerabilities. Staff have been advised to switch to alternative apps such as Microsoft Teams, Amazon’s Wickr, Signal, or Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime.
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Meta responded sharply to the decision. “We disagree with this decision in the strongest possible terms,” a company spokesperson said, arguing that WhatsApp offers a higher level of security than many of the recommended alternatives.
The move follows a series of security-related incidents, including a January report that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had targeted WhatsApp users, among them journalists and civil society members. This is not the first time the House has acted against popular apps—TikTok was similarly banned from staff devices in 2022 over national security concerns.
