France Is Creating Its Own WhatsApp

More than individuals, governments also need to worry about privacy in their communication. A number of measures are often taken to prevent confidential information from getting into the wrong hands.

France, for example, is developing its own encrypted messaging service. The goal is to prevent conversations between government officials from being leaked in any way.

The new messenger was developed by a government official with a tactic that does not inspire much security. They would have tapped codes available on the internet to create the tool.

It is expected that government talks on apps like WhatsApp and Telegram will be less frequent. The two services were created, respectively, in the United States and Russia. In the view of the French government, the use of these platforms makes the risk of information leaks much greater.

“We need to find a way to have a messaging service that is not encrypted by the US or Russia,” a government spokeswoman said.

She took the opportunity to poke the social network giant Facebook, who has been living with the Cambridge Analytica nightmare. “You start thinking about possible violations that can happen, as we saw on Facebook, so we should take the initiative,” she said.

The application is being tested by senior officials and civil servants. If all goes well, it will be mandatory for government members as of the second half. The government also considers releasing the service to all French citizens.