A US agency probing allegations that Meta can access encrypted WhatsApp messages closed abruptly, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.  The case was being examined by an agent with the Bureau of Industry and Security under the US Department of Commerce. The agent gathered documents and conducted interviews for 10 months, and reportedly concluded that Meta stores and can read encrypted WhatsApp messages.  “There is no limit to the type of WhatsApp message that can be viewed by Meta,” the agent wrote in an internal mail shared with officials across agencies, according to Bloomberg.  He further wrote, “The misconduct of Meta and its officers, including current and former high-level executives, involves civil and criminal violations that span several federal jurisdictions.”  However, soon after his findings were circulated, the agency abruptly shut down the investigation.  What is the controversy around WhatsApp encryption and privacy?  Meta, which acquired WhatsApp in 2014, announced in 2016 that the popular messaging app would be protected by end-to-end encryption. Encryption means that when two WhatsApp users chat with each other, the messages and calls between them remain private, even for WhatsApp. A user’s messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and the user can access the “special key” to unlock and read the chat, WhatsApp claims.  In 2026, a class action lawsuit was filed against Meta in San Francisco claiming that the messaging platform “wrongfully intercepted and shared private WhatsApp messages with third parties". The lawsuit claimed that Meta workers could read messages essentially in real time simply by submitting an internal request.  In his findings, the agent concluded that Meta "can and does view and store all the text messages, photographs, audio and video recordings in an unencrypted format", reported Bloomberg.  WhatsApp encryption row in India  When WhatsApp updated its privacy policy in 2021, it came parallel to India’s IT Rules, which required messaging platforms to make messages “traceable”. Complying with it meant WhatsApp effectively breaking its end-to-end encryption. The platform sued the Centre over the IT rules, stating that the laws will “severely undermine” the privacy of its users.  While the Digital Personal Data Protection Act was passed in August 2023, the case drags on. In 2024, WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court it would effectively shut down if it is forced to break encryption, forcing an exit of almost half a billion users.  As of now, WhatsApp continues to operate in India without complying with the traceability mandate.