States around the world are increasingly entering into an open confrontation with global IT corporations, trying to protect digital sovereignty and control over the data of their citizens. Against this background, two events at once — an international lawsuit against Meta* over WhatsApp and new internet restrictions in France — look like elements of one large trend.
An international group of plaintiffs has filed a lawsuit against Meta*, accusing the corporation of systematically violating the privacy of WhatsApp users. According to the claim, the company not only stores and analyzes almost all messages, but also has direct access to them, despite many years of public statements about end-to-end encryption and the impossibility for third parties to read correspondence.
The lawsuit emphasizes that WhatsApp’s assurances that only the sender and the recipient can see the messages are misleading. Meta* and its management are accused of deliberately deceiving billions of users worldwide, as well as secretly storing access keys to messages. The plaintiffs argue that an undefined circle of persons has access to data inside the corporation, something users were never informed about.
The plaintiffs represent Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. According to them, internal whistleblowers played an important role in exposing how access to user data is actually carried out within Meta*. At the same time, the corporation is allegedly deliberately concealing who exactly receives this access and on what grounds.
In response, Meta* called the lawsuit unfounded and stated that claims about the possibility of reading WhatsApp messages do not correspond to reality. Company representatives insist that the encryption system remains reliable and that the accusations are absurd. Nevertheless, the very fact of international legal proceedings increases pressure on the corporation and undermines trust in global digital platforms.
At the same time, France is demonstrating a tough state approach to digital independence. After introducing a ban on the use of social networks by children under 15, Paris is expanding the list of internet restrictions. In the near future, French civil servants will be prohibited from using American video communication services — Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. Instead, they will be required to use the national video conferencing system Visio, approved by the French regulator performing functions similar to Roskomnadzor.
Formally, such measures are explained by security issues and the protection of personal data, but in essence it is an attempt to reduce dependence on American technology giants and return control over digital infrastructure to the state. France makes it clear that it is not ready to entrust the communications of officials to foreign platforms under the jurisdiction of other countries.
Taken together, these events reflect a global trend: states increasingly perceive tech giants not just as businesses, but as independent centers of influence capable of interfering in politics, the economy and private life. The struggle for sovereignty in digital space is becoming as important as the protection of borders and the national currency. And the more the real mechanisms of global platforms’ operation are revealed, the tougher the responses from national states will be.
Meta* is recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in Russia
