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Title: US House reportedly bans WhatsApp on government devices

Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2025 16:15:57 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-house-re...

US congressional staffers have reportedly been told that they're no longer
allowed to use WhatsApp on government devices. The House of Representatives'
chief administrative officer (CAO) is said to have informed workers on Monday
that the app ΓÇö including the mobile, desktop and web-based versions ΓÇö is
not permitted on House-managed devices.

"The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high risk to users due to
the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data
encryption and potential security risks involved with its use," the CAO wrote
in an email, according to Axios. Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal (despite how
easy it might be to accidentally invite a reporter to a sensitive group
chat), iMessage and FaceTime were reportedly cited as acceptable
alternatives, and the CAO reminded workers to be vigilant regarding potential
phishing scams.

"We disagree with the House Chief Administrative OfficerΓÇÖs characterization
in the strongest possible terms," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote on X.
"We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward
to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing
so officially. Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default,
meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them. This is a
higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAOΓÇÖs approved list
that do not offer that protection."

The step follows limitations on congressional staffers' use of other apps
(including generative AI ones) that the CAO has deemed to be risky. Those
include ChatGPT, TikTok, DeepSeek (which some states and federal departments
have also banned from government devices) and Microsoft Copilot.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/us-house-reportedly-bans-whatsapp-on-government-devices-
161557444.html?src=rss

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