Texas sued Meta✴ and WhatsApp, alleging that the app lied about encrypting messages

Texas Attorney General files lawsuit against WhatsApp and Meta

The Texas attorney general, Ken Packston, has initiated litigation against the messaging app WhatsApp and its parent company Meta. In his statement, he claims that WhatsApp does not provide full end‑to‑end encryption of users’ messages and that Meta has access to “almost all” private communications within the app.

Legal Context

The lawsuit was filed in Harris County court under the *Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act*—the state’s primary consumer protection statute. Packston demands:

1. A court order barring Meta and WhatsApp from accessing Texas residents’ messages without explicit consent.
2. Penalties for privacy violations.

Basis of Allegations

Packston cited several publications that mentioned a federal investigation into alleged Meta access to unencrypted WhatsApp messages, as well as a whistleblower statement before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although WhatsApp markets its services as secure and encrypted, the prosecutor argues that the company fails to live up to those promises.

In response, Meta presented its representative Andy Stone, who stated that the company cannot read users’ encrypted conversations.

Context within Previous Lawsuits

Packston has previously filed similar suits against major tech firms. In May 2025, Google agreed to pay about $1.4 million to settle privacy‑breach claims. On the same day (May 11), the attorney general filed another lawsuit—against streaming service Netflix—accusing it of spying on children and other consumers by collecting data without consent.