Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, accusing the company of misleading consumers about the strength of WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption. The suit, filed on May 21 in Harrison County, claims Meta can access virtually all user communications despite years of marketing that promised otherwise.
Since at least 2016, WhatsApp has told its more than 3 billion users that 'not even WhatsApp can see' the content of their messages. The lawsuit, brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, argues that these encryption claims amount to false advertising.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denied the allegations, stating WhatsApp cannot access encrypted communications. The case seeks injunctive relief and monetary penalties against Meta.
Paxton, who is in a US Senate primary runoff, has a history of aggressive state-level enforcement on digital privacy issues. This case uniquely argues that encryption was never as strong as claimed, not that it should be weakened.