Signal CEO Criticizes Ban on Messenger for French Officials

The head of the Signal Foundation, Meredith Whittaker, has criticized the French government’s decision to ban civil servants from using the Signal messaging app for official communications. According to Whittaker, the authorities’ claims about security vulnerabilities in Signal are blatant misinformation.

French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has required officials to use the domestic messenger Olvid instead, which sparked Whittaker’s dissatisfaction. French media report that government agencies generally do not want their employees using widely popular foreign platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram.

“No one is stopping them from promoting an app developed in their own country,” Whittaker stated. “However, claims that Signal has issues with privacy and data protection are completely unfounded and damage the company’s reputation, especially when they come from government representatives.”

The Signal Foundation CEO emphasized that the messenger undergoes regular independent audits and its source code is open to the public. “Our encryption protocol has been tested and improved for over 10 years. We take the disclosure and resolution of any vulnerabilities extremely seriously,” Whittaker stressed.

In November, the Signal Foundation announced that it had increased its infrastructure spending, with about $14 million now allocated annually to security. The Foundation highlighted that, as a nonprofit organization, it can focus exclusively on protecting user privacy rather than making a profit.