Overview
- A Quinn Emanuel class action alleges Meta staff can obtain WhatsApp message content via an internal task system, including near real-time, historical, and deleted chats.
- Meta calls the claims categorically false, is seeking sanctions against the plaintiffs’ firm, and argues the suit serves NSO Group, which Quinn Emanuel also represents on appeal.
- Cryptography researchers, including Johns Hopkins professor Matthew Green, say the complaint offers no technical proof and that a systemwide backdoor would likely have been detected through reverse engineering.
- WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption based on the Signal protocol, though the app’s closed-source code complicates independent verification despite the availability of decompilable builds.
- A reported look by U.S. Commerce officials was later labeled unsubstantiated by a spokesperson, with no formal investigation underway.