Texas sues Meta and WhatsApp over alleged private message access

The state of Texas has filed a major lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc. and its subsidiary WhatsApp, accusing the companies of violating state consumer protection laws by secretly accessing users' private messages while publicly promising absolute encryption. The lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a Harrison County court.

The legal action alleges that WhatsApp, which has over 3 billion global users, systematically built its user base on the explicit promise that not even the company can see personal messages, photos, or calls. The state's petition points to past statements from company leadership, including 2018 congressional testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who told the U.S. Senate that the company does not see any of the content in WhatsApp because it is fully encrypted.

Texas contends these statements are false, alleging that Meta and WhatsApp store, maintain access to, and use purportedly encrypted communications. The lawsuit cites a federal investigation where an agent concluded there is no limit to the type of WhatsApp message that can be viewed by Meta. It details a tiered permissions system that allegedly allows employees and overseas...