Several European governments have decided to end the use of WhatsApp and Signal for official communications, Politico reports.
Governments in Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium have begun rolling out their own messaging apps to prevent employees from using widely used encrypted messaging apps to share sensitive information and to shift to local alternatives that can be monitored. NATO also has its own messaging app, and the European Commission plans to launch one by the end of the year.
The move toward government-controlled messaging apps is part of a push to find alternatives to American technology, fueled by concerns about strategic dependence on Washington. WhatsApp is owned by US tech giant Meta, while Signal is run by a US non-profit organization and maintained by a large community of open-source software enthusiasts. Governments are also increasingly aware that popular messaging apps have vulnerabilities that make them dangerous places to share sensitive information.
The Dutch minister for digital affairs told Politico that internal communications are now often conducted on platforms that are not subject to control, and in a world where technology is increasingly used as an instrument of power, this poses risks.
Both WhatsApp and Signal have faced cybersecurity challenges in recent weeks.
In March, several cybersecurity agencies warned that Russian hacking groups were using the messaging apps to defraud governments and political figures through phishing attacks. Brussels has also recognized the risk, and has ordered some senior officials to stop using Signal.
Belgium’s announcement about the internal communications app is the latest in a series of similar announcements. From now on, members of the federal government, including Prime Minister Bart De Wever, are being asked to use the BEAM app. It offers all the same features as the popular apps, but the government can control it.
There is no suggestions that WhatsApp, Signal and other apps that use end-to-end encryption, the gold standard for secure communications, are less secure than alternatives offered by governments. The shift is being driven more by the need for certain features, such as permissions, the ability to limit communication to specific people, and metadata controls that show who made calls and sent messages and when.
Benjamin Schilz, CEO of Wire, an app used by the German government, said that
using consumer apps in large organizations is risky and apps simply are not designed for that purpose.
Activists fighting for government transparency have long been waiting for the shift to state-controlled apps. Democracy groups have criticized the fact that end-to-end encryption and cybersecurity techniques like disappearing messages on popular apps have allowed important decisions to remain in the shadows.
Those working with European governments’ internal solutions have said the shift in attitude has become particularly apparent since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Matthew Hodgson, chief executive of Element, said there has been a sense of urgency from governments over the past 12 months. He and others attribute this to a number of events, including the so-called Signalgate, when senior Trump administration officials used Signal to share classified military plans.
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