Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ministers given new guidance on WhatsApp use

Ministers given new guidance on WhatsApp use

Ministers have been given new guidance on using WhatsApp and other private messaging apps for government business.
It replaces previous guidelines from 2013, before WhatsApp was widely used, on the use of private email.

The new guidance states that ministers and officials should use private messaging apps "with care" and never for information classified as "secret".

It follows concerns over the use of WhatsApp to discuss key decisions during the Covid pandemic.

Last year, a report by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found a lack of clear controls and a rapid increase in the use of messaging apps like WhatsApp could lead to important information about the government's response to the pandemic being lost or insecurely handled.

The watchdog highlighted risks to transparency and accountability and called for a review into the use of private correspondence channels in government.

The issue was thrown into the spotlight again earlier this month when the Daily Telegraph newspaper revealed it had obtained more than 100,000 messages sent between then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock and other ministers and officials at the height of the pandemic.

The new guidance, issued by the Cabinet Office, applies to ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors and independent experts advising ministers.

It advises that departments should reduce the need for non-corporate communication channels, including WhatsApp, Signal, private email, text messages and private messaging on social media platforms like Facebook, "as far as reasonably practicable".

In general, it says government systems should be used for government business and care should be taken over recordkeeping responsibilities.

Under the guidance, information classified as "secret" or "top secret" - the highest level of security classification - must not be shared on private messaging channels.

It also outlines how significant government information should be captured into government systems to help accountability.

In particular, it highlights how any use of "disappearing message" functions must not impact on recordkeeping or transparency, although it says such tools "have a role in limiting the build up of messages on devices".

It comes after reports suggested some cabinet ministers were using the function on Whatsapp, which allows users to set messages to automatically disappear after a certain timeframe.

There have also been concerns that ministers could have deleted messages with key information about the government's Covid response, ahead of the independent public inquiry.

Lord Bethell, who was a health minister during the pandemic, admitted he had "clumsily deleted" some WhatsApp messages because "there simply wasn't enough space on my phone".

The ICO said there was "a clear improvement" in the new guidance and that it addressed some of the concerns raised in its 2022 report.

The watchdog's director of freedom of information and transparency, Warren Seddon, added: "However, we remain disappointed that the more strategic review we recommended, which asked government to review the risks and opportunities in more detail, has not yet been conducted."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Budapest Post
Close
0:00
0:00
Climate cultists thought they had sabotaged another beautiful event — then the cameraman had his revenge.
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Elon Musk's SpaceX and Italy's Unipol join forces to help Italians hit by flooding
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received a warm welcome at an Arab summit in Jeddah
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
Vienna: Passenger Plays Hitler Speeches on Train, Causes Panic
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
King Charles III being crowned.
Newly released video of Donald Trump’s rape trial deposition:
Video: Ukraine MP Punches Russian Representative At Global Meet
El Paso mayor has declared a state of emergency
Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an attempt to kill Putin
Ahead of King Charles’ coronation, British guards rehearse in the middle of the night in London
Dutch court orders man who fathered 550 kids to stop donating sperm
Kim Kardashian Lookalike Christina Ashten Dies Of Cardiac Arrest, Hours After Plastic Surgery
Samsung has banned employees from using generative AI services such as ChatGPT
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
Tucker Carlson is back, soon!
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
×