The Scottish government decided to stop using WhatsApp in official communication after reviewing its informal messaging apps policy. This has been done following an external review order by the former First Minister, Humza Yousaf, which led to WhatsApp and other non-corporate messaging apps being removed from devices used for official purposes by next spring.
In addition, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said, “government business should take place on government systems that are secure, searchable, and permit the proper sharing of information, within our statutory duties.” The move has followed the UK’s COVID inquiry discovery of how ministers and leading civil servants had deleted the messages from WhatsApp during pandemic times, which attracted heavy public outcry.
The review’s findings involved cases where senior figures such as former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon admitted to having deleted messages, which attracted criticism. Moreover, some ministers such as Yousaf faced a public outcry over their messages. One of the exchanges saw him refer to the former Labour lawmaker Neil Findlay with derogatory terms.
The review, led by former Channel Islands data protection commissioner Emma Martins, proposed 20 recommendations on governance, values, training, recruitment, and mobile messaging app management. Martins pointed out, “Technologies are changing our lives at home and in the workplace. No organisation can afford to sit back and hope that navigating those changes will come without effort.” She also acknowledged improvements already in progress.
