Meta Triumphs as WhatsApp Privacy Lawsuit Dismissed by Federal Judge

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Meta Platforms, Inc. could access encrypted messages on WhatsApp and misled users about the app's privacy protections.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin dismissed the multinational user-led lawsuit on Thursday evening, but allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint and refile.

The proposed class action claimed that while WhatsApp markets itself as a private and secure communication tool with end-to-end encryption, Meta Platforms, Inc. illegally intercepted, read, and stored users' private chat messages.

Plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc. retained complete chat content, accessible to employees, with these claims based on information from multiple whistleblowers whose identities were not disclosed.

In her ruling, Judge Lin stated that the complaint failed to adequately substantiate the basis for the whistleblower information, making the claims insufficient to proceed.

Plaintiff attorney Adam Wolfson said in an email: "While we disagree with some of the court's conclusions, we will add substantial detail to fully support the detailed whistleblower testimony."

Meta Platforms, Inc. responded that all claims suggesting WhatsApp messages are not encrypted are completely false.

Meta Platforms, Inc. stated in an official release: "This lawsuit was entirely without merit from the start. We are pleased the judge dismissed it, finding that plaintiffs failed to provide valid facts and sufficient evidence."

The San Francisco-based judge noted that plaintiffs could add more details to address the evidentiary shortcomings in their complaint.

Additionally, the judge rejected Meta Platforms, Inc.'s request to sanction the plaintiffs for filing and pursuing the lawsuit despite evidence contradicting their claims.

Judge Lin said the evidence submitted by Meta Platforms, Inc. did not completely rule out the possibility that the whistleblower disclosures were credible.

Bloomberg reported in April that a U.S. Commerce Department investigation into whether Meta Platforms, Inc. could access WhatsApp encrypted messages had been abruptly terminated. Earlier this year, a department investigator contacted other federal officials to share interim findings and discuss next steps, after which the probe quickly ended.

The case is Dawson v. Meta Platforms Inc., case number 26-cv-00751, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco).