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Members of the US House of Representatives have been banned from using social media messaging app WhatsApp on their devices after it was deemed a security risk.
The House’s chief administrative officer (CAO), Catherine Szpindor, informed members of Congress in a memo that the use of the app would be banned on member 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 memo said.
Congressional staff, thus, are banned from downloading or using the desktop, mobile or web app on any government-issued device, while those who already had the app installed are being asked to remove it.
Instead, the memo suggested that staff use iMessage, Signal, FaceTime, Microsoft Team’s or Amazon’s Wickr messaging service.
“Protecting the People’s House is our topmost priority, and we are always monitoring and analyzing for potential cyber security risks that could endanger the data of House members and staff,” Szpindor told the media.
“We routinely review the list of House-authorized apps and will amend the list as deemed appropriate.”
However, WhatsApp owner Meta has disagreed with the move, with company communications director Andy Stone taking to X to say that WhatsApp is more secure than some of the other apps suggested by the House.
“We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization in the strongest possible terms. We know members and their staffs [sic] regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially,” he wrote on X.
“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 CAO’s approved list that do not offer that protection.”
The short-form video app TikTok was banned by the House in 2022 for security concerns.
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