WhatsApp case: the Citizens in High Court for permission hearing

We’re at the High Court to challenge the government’s use of ‘disappearing’ messages on WhatsApp and Signal to conduct official business. The groundbreaking legal case, brought with the support of Foxglove Legal, is the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year battle to get answers from the government about its use of encrypted software apps and text messages on private phones.

We believe that vital evidence of how the government makes decisions – on the pandemic, on Brexit, on contracts with private companies – is being lost irretrievably. It’s unlawful, it’s undemocratic and it’s a blatant attempt to dodge accountability, the modern equivalent of shredding vital documents.