Comment by zugi

> I always assumed Meta has backdoor that at least allows them to compromise key individuals if men in black ask

According to Meta's own voluntarily published official statements, they do not.

* FAQ on encryption: https://faq.whatsapp.com/820124435853543

* FAQ for law enforcement: https://faq.whatsapp.com/444002211197967

These representations are legally binding. If Meta were intentionally lying on these, it would invite billions of dollars of liability. They use similar terminology as Signal and the best private VPN companies: we can't read and don't retain message content, so law enforcement can't ask for it. They do keep some "meta" information and will provide it with a valid subpoenoa.

The latter link even clarifies Meta's interpretation of their responsibilities under "National Security Letters", which the US Government has tried to use to circumvent 4th amendment protections in the past:

> We interpret the national security letter provision as applied to WhatsApp to require the production of only two categories of information: name and length of service.

I guess we'll see if this lawsuit goes anywhere or discovery reveals anything surprising.