WhatsApp faces class action lawsuit over alleged breach of message privacy

A class action lawsuit filed in the United States has alleged that WhatsApp is not as private as it claims, accusing the platform and its parent company Meta Platforms Inc. of intercepting and sharing user messages without consent.

As per reports, the complaint, brought by plaintiffs Brian Y Shirazi and Nida Samson, also names Accenture and its subsidiary as defendants. It claims that private messages sent on WhatsApp were accessed, read, stored or shared with third parties, despite assurances of end-to-end encryption.

According to the lawsuit, whistleblowers informed federal investigators that Meta employees and external contractors had ‘broad access’ to the content of messages that were marketed as secure and inaccessible to anyone outside the conversation.

The plaintiffs argue that WhatsApp’s marketing, which states that ‘not even WhatsApp’ can view personal messages, is misleading. They allege that users were not adequately informed or asked to consent to any such access to their communications.

The case seeks to represent a nationwide class of WhatsApp users in the US who have used the platform since April 2016, along with specific subclasses in California and Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit accuses the companies of breaching privacy and data protection laws, as well as engaging in fraud, false advertising and unfair competition. It also cites violations of the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act and claims of unlawful intrusion into private communications.

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and are demanding declaratory and injunctive relief, along with compensatory, statutory and punitive damages.

The case has been filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.