WhatsApp has been banned from the government phones of congressional staffers, in a huge blow for the recently MAGAfied Mark Zuckerberg. The non-partisan Office of the Chief Administrative Officer informed congressional staffers Monday that the Meta-owned encrypted messaging app has been blacklisted, due to fears over the protection of sensitive data, according to Axios. “The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use,” the office said in an email seen by Axios. “House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products.” The email added a warning for rule-bending staffers: “If you have a WhatsApp application on your House-managed device, you will be contacted to remove it.” Interestingly, given its recent history, Signal was proffered as an alternative to WhatsApp. Microsoft Teams, Wickr, iMessage and FaceTime also made the green list. The move comes as part of a wider crackdown on potentially risky software, including artificial intelligence programs like the free version of ChatGPT.
