Privacy Class Actions Target Meta WhatsApp Encryption Claims and Google Assistant Voice Recording

A new class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleges Meta misled WhatsApp users by marketing “unbreakable” end-to-end encryption while allegedly retaining and analyzing message content and enabling employee access via internal tools. The complaint—brought by plaintiffs from multiple countries and seeking global class certification—cites unnamed whistleblowers but reportedly provides no technical proof (e.g., logs or code) to substantiate claims that Meta can decrypt or read message contents; Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denied the allegations as “categorically false,” reiterating WhatsApp’s use of the Signal Protocol for end-to-end encryption.

Separately, Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging Google Assistant unlawfully recorded users’ private conversations when inadvertently triggered (e.g., via “Hey Google” misfires) and shared recordings with third parties for advertising-related purposes. The preliminary settlement, also filed in Northern California federal court, still requires judicial approval and applies to purchasers of Google devices dating back to May 2016; Google reportedly settled without admitting wrongdoing. Together, the cases underscore ongoing legal and regulatory exposure tied to consumer privacy representations, data handling, and the gap between product claims and alleged internal access/collection practices.