Meta faces lawsuit claiming it can read supposedly encrypted WhatsApp messages

A new legal challenge has been lodged against the social-media conglomerate, asserting that its messaging service is not as private as its end-to-end encryption promise suggests. The complaint alleges that internal mechanisms allow the company to access the content of conversations, a claim the firm has consistently denied. Plaintiffs point to internal documents that they say reveal a capacity to retrieve messages for purposes ranging from policy enforcement to targeted advertising. While Meta maintains that only the sender and recipient hold the keys to decrypt chats, the lawsuit argues that the architecture includes backdoors that could be exploited. The case adds to a growing chorus of privacy concerns surrounding digital communication platforms and raises questions about the balance between user confidentiality and corporate oversight. Legal experts note that the outcome could set a precedent for how tech companies handle encrypted data, potentially reshaping the expectations of users who rely on these services for personal and professional correspondence.