Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Meta and its messaging platform WhatsApp, accusing the companies of misleading consumers about the privacy and security of their supposedly end-to-end encrypted communications.
The lawsuit, filed in Harrison County, claims WhatsApp falsely assured users that “not even WhatsApp” could access their private messages while allegedly maintaining the ability to access or process portions of user communications and metadata behind the scenes.
According to the complaint, Meta and WhatsApp marketed the platform as a highly secure communication service where only the sender and intended recipient could read messages. Texas argues these representations created a false impression that user communications were entirely inaccessible to the company itself.
Encryption claims under scrutiny
The lawsuit centers on WhatsApp’s long-running use of end-to-end encryption (E2EE), a security model designed to ensure message contents remain unreadable to anyone except communicating users.
Texas alleges Meta misrepresented how completely those protections apply in practice. The state claims WhatsApp and Meta still retain access to substantial categories of user data and may be capable of accessing certain communications despite public-facing privacy promises.
The filing reportedly references whistleblower allegations submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as media reports concerning federal investigations into Meta’s handling of WhatsApp data.
Texas seeks penalties and restrictions
Attorney General Paxton framed the lawsuit as part of a broader effort to hold large technology firms accountable for allegedly deceptive privacy practices.
“WhatsApp markets its services as secure and encrypted, but it does not deliver on those promises,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks monetary penalties under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and requests a court order preventing Meta and WhatsApp from accessing Texans’ private messages without explicit consent.
Meta has denied the allegations. Company spokesperson Andy Stone stated that WhatsApp cannot access users’ encrypted communications and described the claims in the lawsuit as false.
The case is the latest in a growing series of privacy-focused legal actions brought by Paxton’s office against major technology companies. Texas previously secured a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over allegations tied to unauthorized biometric data collection and facial recognition practices.
In recent weeks, Paxton has also targeted Netflix over alleged behavioral tracking and data collection practices and launched a separate investigation into Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses over concerns involving facial recognition and covert recording capabilities.
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