WhatsApp class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiffs Brian Y. Shirazi and Nida Samson filed a class action lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., WhatsApp LLC, Accenture PLC and Accenture LLP.
- Why: Shirazi and Samson claim the defendants wrongfully intercepted and shared private WhatsApp messages with third parties.
- Where: The WhatsApp class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges WhatsApp messages are not private.
Plaintiffs Brian Y. Shirazi and Nida Samson claim WhatsApp, Meta Platforms Inc., Accenture PLC and Accenture LLP wrongfully intercepted and shared private WhatsApp messages with third parties.
Shirazi and Samson argue the companies marketed WhatsApp as a secure platform where users could send private messages, but in reality, WhatsApp and Meta allegedly intercepted, read, stored, accessed and/or viewed private messages users sent on the platform.
“Whistleblowers have informed federal investigators that Meta employees and third-party contractors had ‘broad access to the substance of WhatsApp messages that were supposed to be encrypted and inaccessible,” the class action lawsuit states.
“WhatsApp’s secret interception, reading, storing, accessing and/or viewing of the messages it ensured plaintiffs and similarly situated class members were private, including without adequate disclosure to plaintiffs and class members, constitutes a serious invasion of plaintiffs’ and class members’ privacy,” the WhatsApp class action lawsuit says.
Shirazi and Samson want to represent a nationwide class of WhatsApp users who sent or received communications on the platform between April 5, 2016, and the present, along with California and Pennsylvania subclasses.
Class action claims WhatsApp, Meta violated data and privacy laws
Shirazi and Samson argue WhatsApp and Meta violated privacy laws by allowing themselves, their employees, Accenture contractors and/or third parties to view the contents of communications WhatsApp users sent on the platform without the user’s consent.
The complaint alleges this occurs despite WhatsApp’s marketing materials and in-app messages stating that “not even WhatsApp” can see personal messages.
The class action further alleges that “WhatsApp and Meta do not ask WhatsApp users to consent to having the contents of their messages sent on the platform intercepted, read, stored, accessed and/or or viewed by WhatsApp, Meta, their respective employees, contractors or other third parties.”
Shirazi and Samson claim the companies are guilty of breach of contract and violations of California privacy laws, fraud and data laws, false advertising law, unfair competition as well as the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act and common law intrusion upon seclusion.
The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of statutory, compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages for themselves and all class members.
Last month, a group of consumers sued Meta Platforms, alleging it enabled, facilitated and materially contributed to a stock pump-and-dump scheme that extracted millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims.
What do you think of the allegations made in this WhatsApp class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jennifer L. Joost and Jordan E. Jacobson of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP.
The WhatsApp privacy class action lawsuit is Shirazi, et al. v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. 3:26-cv-02615, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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