Meta Warns Iran May Block WhatsApp Amid Snooping Allegations
Meta (META, Financials) expressed concern that Iran may move to block WhatsApp following claims by Iranian state media that the messaging platform is being used by Israel for surveillance. The U.S. tech company strongly denied the allegations, calling them false reports, and warned they could be used as a pretext to restrict access to its services at a critical time.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with META.
Meta said, We're concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most. The company emphasized that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning that neither Meta nor third parties can access the contents of messages. It also clarified that it does not track users' exact locations or log who is messaging whom.
The statement came in response to Iran's state-run IRNA urging citizens to delete WhatsApp, claiming the Zionist regime is exploiting the app to gather private data. In a broadcast shared by Rudaw, an IRNA host warned viewers about potential surveillance targeting individuals linked to sensitive sectors, including nuclear science.
While Meta confirmed it does not provide bulk data to any government, it acknowledged that metadatasuch as contacts and device informationcan be shared under specific legal requests. Meta also pointed to over a decade of transparency reports outlining such disclosures.
WhatsApp, along with Instagram, was previously banned in Iran in 2022 during nationwide protests. That ban was lifted two months later as part of reforms introduced by President Masoud Pezeshkian to expand internet freedoms.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Life is full of unexpected surprises': People trying to call Iran meet mysterious voice message
People trying to call friends and loved ones inside Iran have instead been met with strange, pre-recorded voice messages, which some experts believe may be part of the regime's wider internet blackout. In a recording of a telephone call heard by CNN, a person outside of Iran hoping to hear their friend's voice on the other line, was instead met with a robotic voice. 'Hello, and thank you for taking the time to listen,' the voice says. 'Life is full of unexpected surprises,' it continues, 'and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while, at other times, they challenge us. 'The key is to discover the strength within us to overcome these challenges.' The unsettling message, which lasts nearly 90 seconds, then goes on to recommend the listener close their eyes and imagine themself in a place that brings them 'peace and happiness.' While different variations have been reported, this version appears to have been the one most commonly heard by people outside Iran placing calls to mobile phones inside the country on Wednesday and Thursday. No similar message was reported when calling landlines. The messages were widely heard after Iran imposed nationwide temporary restrictions on internet access on Wednesday, citing security concerns. This meant WhatsApp was down, so people abroad began calling their friends and family in Iran directly, rather than via the app. The message is reportedly not heard if the call is made through an app. The initial assumption for many Iranians was that the messages were the result of an Israeli cyberattack. Others see the Iranian authorities as being behind them. Alp Toker, the founder and director of NetBlocks, a non-governmental organization that monitors internet governance, believes the messages are an attempt by the Iranian government to limit telecommunications, as part of the wider internet censorship measures. 'The point is, when the internet is cut, the phones need to go somewhere, and that will go to the fallback message on the device,' he told CNN. Toker added it was a phenomenon NetBlocks had seen in different places around the world when internet access was cut. 'Sometimes it will have an advert for summer vacations and sometimes it will have some other nonsense,' he said. According to Toker, the messages are text-to-speech generated. He believes they appear to have been set up rapidly. 'It's in the format of a normal gateway answering message of the type you might get from a national gateway when a phone doesn't answer,' he said. 'It seems that they've gone with the settings, and there's a little box where you can put in the settings and they've put something in there, pre-AI generated.' Meanwhile, a UK-based telecommunications expert who listened to a recording of the most commonly heard message told CNN that 'the call appears to be hijacked after the second ring, which is highly unusual and deeply concerning. This suggests interference at the network level – well before a proper connection is established.' The expert asked not to be named for safety reasons. Neither Israel nor Iran has made a public statement on the recorded phone messages. Access to international internet services had been partially restored in parts of Iran on Saturday 'after approximately 62 hours of severe disruption,' NetBlocks said. 'While some regions have seen improvements, overall connectivity remains below ordinary levels, continuing to hinder people's ability to communicate freely and access independent information,' it added. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that international internet services would resume by 8 p.m. local time Saturday, citing the communications minister. However, Tasnim later reported that this was not the case, citing the same minister. According to the communications ministry, Iranians abroad can now contact their families inside Iran through domestic messaging apps. The Iranian government has frequently restricted internet access in the country. During nationwide protests in 2022, authorities implemented multiple internet shutdowns in an effort to stifle dissent.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Week in Review: Meta reveals its Oakley smart glasses
Welcome back to Week in Review! Lots in store for you today, including Wix's latest acquisition, Meta's new smart glasses, a look at the new Digg, and much more. Have a great weekend! Smart specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music, handle calls, and respond to Meta AI prompts. They start at $399 and have double the battery life of Meta's Ray-Bans. A $499 limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN model will be available starting July 11. Unicorn watch: Wix bought 6-month-old solo startup Base44 for $80 million in cash after it quickly gained traction as a no-code AI tool for building web apps. Created by a single founder and already profitable, Base44's rapid rise made scooping it up irresistible. Sand to the rescue: Finland just turned on the world's largest sand battery — yes, actual sand — which stores heat to help power the small town of Pornainen's heating system and cut its carbon emissions. The low-tech, low-cost system is built from discarded fireplace soapstone, is housed in a giant silo, and can store heat for weeks, proving you don't need fancy lithium to fight climate change. You just need a pile of hot rocks. This is TechCrunch's Week in Review, where we recap the week's biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. We're back, baby: VanMoof is back from the brink with the S6, its first e-bike since bankruptcy — and it's sticking to its signature custom design, despite that being what nearly killed the company. Backed by McLaren tech and a beefed-up repair network, the new VanMoof promises smoother rides, smarter features, and (hopefully) fewer stranded cyclists. Space lasers: Baiju Bhatt, best known for co-founding Robinhood, is now building lasers in space. His new startup, Aetherflux, has raised $60 million to prove that beaming solar power from orbit isn't a fantasy, with a demo satellite set to launch next year and early backing from the Department of Defense. Oh no: One of SpaceX's Starship rockets exploded during a test in Texas, likely pushing back the vehicle's next launch, which had been tentatively set for June 29. SpaceX says the blast, caused by a pressurized tank failure, didn't injure anyone, but it's yet another setback in a rocky year for the company's ambitious mega-rocket program. That lossless feeling: Spotify's long-awaited lossless audio tier still hasn't launched, but fresh hints buried in the latest app code suggest that it's under active development and could be closer than ever. But with years of delays and no official timeline, fans might want to temper their excitement until Spotify confirms the rollout. I can Digg it: Digg's reboot has entered alpha testing with a fresh iOS app aimed at becoming an AI-era Reddit alternative. The app offers a clean, simple design with curated communities, AI-powered article summaries, and gamified features like 'Gems' and daily leaderboards. We want you: The U.S. Navy is speeding up how it works with startups, cutting red tape and zeroing in on real wins like saved time and better morale. Department of the Navy CTO Justin Fanelli says it's leading with problems, hunting for game-changing tech in AI, GPS, and system upgrades. And with Silicon Valley finally paying attention, the Navy's becoming a go-to partner for innovators ready to shake things up. Cash ain't king: Mark Zuckerberg is throwing out massive cash — up to $100 million — to lure top AI talent from OpenAI and DeepMind. But OpenAI's Sam Altman says none of his key people have bitten, praising his team's mission over money. Meanwhile, OpenAI keeps pushing ahead with new AI models and even hints at launching an AI-powered social app that could outpace Meta's own shaky attempts. San Francisco's latest startup saga? Cluely's after-party for YC's AI Startup School blew up on Twitter, drawing 2,000 party crashers, but it became the 'most legendary party that never happened' after getting shut down by cops before a single drink was spilled. Founder Roy Lee's viral marketing may have promised chaos, but the real party's waiting. Maybe once the weather warms up?
Engadget
2 hours ago
- Engadget
Xbox's VR headset with Meta could release sooner than we thought
Xbox has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a chunky console. It's recently taken on the form of an Asus gaming handheld, and it might even be packaged as a VR headset soon. According to an image leaked on X and Game Sandwich , Xbox is reportedly teaming up with Meta to release an Xbox-branded Quest 3S headset in the coming days. The rumored specs show a very similar build to the base model Quest 3S with 128GB of storage, but will reportedly be bundled with an Xbox wireless controller, a Meta Quest Elite strap and three months of Xbox Game Pass. There's been no official announcement from Xbox or Meta yet, but a blog post from 2024 noted that the two companies were working together to "create a limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox." While it's important to take this rumor with a grain of salt, Xbox seems interested in opening up its hardware for collaboration with other companies, as indicated by the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally. As for the rumored Xbox version of the Meta Quest 3S, those who already own the base model headset might not be the target demographic since you can already run Xbox Game Pass on it. Instead, this VR headset could be marketed as a convincing entry point for anyone looking to get into VR and is already familiar with the Xbox ecosystem. According to Game Sandwich 's sources, this Xbox-branded VR headset will cost $399 and is set to drop on June 24. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
