WhatsApp: Latest News and Updates | South China Morning Post

TOPIC

/ company

The latest news, analysis and opinion on WhatsApp. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Chairman / President

Nitin Gupta

CEO / Managing Director

Will Cathcart

CFO / Finance Director

Jonathan Blames

Industry

Social media

Website

whatsapp.com

Headquarters address

1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA

Year founded

2009

Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton created the non-profit Signal Foundation together in 2018. Photos: @moxiemarlinspike, @adcavepk/Instagram

Icons and Influencers

Who are Signal’s co-founders, Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton?

The Signal Foundation’s co-founders Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton both have a background in tech: Acton created WhatsApp before selling it to Mark Zuckerberg for billions – but later regretted it.

27 Mar 2025 - 6:00PM

Hong Kong economy

Tech giant Tencent launches Hong Kong academy with pupils to get AI training

15 Mar 2025 - 6:06PM

Microsoft

Microsoft retires Skype, internet call pioneer

1 Mar 2025 - 4:08AM

Malaysia

In the battle against scams, Malaysians are now armed with a chatbot

Scammers on Hold AI aims to keep potential fraudsters engaged as long as possible and to annoy them to the point of giving up.

21 Feb 2025 - 4:55PM

Malaysian police estimated that Malaysian victims lost 432 million ringgit to Facebook scams alone in 2023. Photo: Shutterstock

Crime in Hong Kong

Hongkongers lose HK$200 million to scams in a week, AI voice-cloning used

Merchant swindled out of HK$145 million after scammers use artificial intelligence to mimic voice of financial manager of mainland firm.

9 Feb 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

Indonesia

Will Indonesia’s plan to restrict children’s access to social media succeed?

While many support the policy and say it should also limit screen time, others are concerned about implementation and data privacy.

17 Jan 2025 - 8:01PMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda shifts towards imperialist rhetoric

Trump’s rhetoric, reminiscent of 19th-century colonialism, has alarmed allies and emboldened adversaries, raising concerns about the potential for conflict.

10 Jan 2025 - 1:33AMvideocam

Donald Trump’s second term sees a shift from ‘America First’ to imperialist rhetoric, eyeing Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal, alarming allies. Photo: TNS

TikTok

Venezuela court fines TikTok US$10 million over viral challenge deaths

Authorities in Venezuela say three adolescents died from intoxication by chemical substances.

31 Dec 2024 - 12:01PM

Facebook

Facebook and Instagram down for thousands of users, WhatsApp also affected

WhatsApp, Meta’s messaging application, was also down for more than 1,000 users.

12 Dec 2024 - 3:31AM

Singapore

Singapore saw 9,000 phishing takedowns, Meta says in scam centre alert

The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said scammers in Southeast Asia were using sophisticated tactics to lure victims.

11 Dec 2024 - 9:46AM

Meta has taken down more than 2 million accounts linked to scam centres in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines this year. Photo: Shutterstock

Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai denies pushing staff to draft sanctions list for US

Judges grill former media boss on ‘confidential’ US message he forwarded to staff and friends in opposition camp.

29 Nov 2024 - 1:00AM

A prison vehicle brings Jimmy Lai to West Kowloon Court ahead of the second day of his oral testimony in his trial. Photo: Edmond So

Crime in Hong Kong

115 Hongkongers lose HK$22 million in a week in click farming scams

Police remind public to be wary of employment fraud schemes in which victims are baited with ‘commissions’ to boost online sales of products.

12 Nov 2024 - 6:11PM

Malaysia

‘We don’t know what to do next’: father of missing Malaysian teen speaks out

The parents of 17-year-old Erma Fatima Shamsul Bahari are still searching for any clues to her location two weeks after her disappearance.

10 Nov 2024 - 7:38AMvideocam

Hong Kong politics

Editorial | Hong Kong’s civil servants get the app safety message

More secure services are needed for Hong Kong staff with the removal of unauthorised communication tools from work computers.

30 Oct 2024 - 7:45AM

WhatsApp and other apps have been banned from the mobile phones of Hong Kong’s civil servants. Photo: Shutterstock

Crime

Northern Ireland jails man who abused up to 3,500 girls online

One of his catfishing attacks, which occurred on social media platforms, led to the suicide of a 12-year-old US girl.

25 Oct 2024 - 11:39PMvideocam

Detective Chief Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan speaks outside Belfast Crown Court after prolific online predator Alexander McCartney was jailed for a minimum of 20 years. Photo: AP

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong civil service ban on WhatsApp, WeChat won’t hinder work: minister

Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung adds government employees have been given ample time to adapt to alternatives.

24 Oct 2024 - 5:00PM

Hong Kong science and tech

Hong Kong civil service restrictions on WhatsApp, WeChat necessary, experts say

Experts also call on government to improve risk intelligence systems and employee cybersecurity awareness.

23 Oct 2024 - 10:47PM

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong restricts civil servants from using WhatsApp, WeChat at work

‘Desktops used internally in the government cannot have instant messaging services such as WhatsApp or WeChat, as they carry severe internet safety risks,’ minister says.

23 Oct 2024 - 11:59AM

Civil servants will need to obtain permission from their department bosses to use certain apps such as WhatsApp on their work computers. Photo: Reuters

Crime in Hong Kong

81 Hongkongers swindled out of HK$12 million in online job scams in past week

One victim duped out of more than HK$400,000 in click farming job scam after receiving WhatsApp message, police say.

14 Oct 2024 - 7:05PM

Malaysia

Enticed by a fake ad, a Malaysian man lost US$6,000 in a sperm ‘lending’ scam

The scam exploited the victim’s poor literacy and used a local law firm’s name to appear legitimate.

24 Sep 2024 - 5:08PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Meta’s chatbot will speak in voices of celebrities like Awkwafina

Meta’s new feature comes after rival OpenAI introduced a ChatGPT voice that sounded like actress Scarlett Johansson, without her consent.

24 Sep 2024 - 12:00PM

Asian-American actress Awkwafina at the Emmy Awards on September 8. Photo: AP

Spain

Fake ‘Brad Pitt’ scams 2 women in Spain of more than US$360,000

Posing as the US actor, gang members allegedly promised a future with Pitt and proposed the women invest in projects that did not exist.

24 Sep 2024 - 9:17AM

France

Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France

Investigators allege the Russian-born billionaire’s platform has been used for money laundering and drug trafficking, among other offences.

26 Aug 2024 - 5:21AM

Pakistan

Pakistan’s internet slowdown decried by investors and activists

Activists and business leaders decry the move by Pakistan’s government, saying the crackdown risks the country’s economic recovery.

18 Aug 2024 - 9:49PM

Cybersecurity

AI has made Hongkongers more vulnerable to fraud but is also used to fight back

Fraudsters are using AI to convincingly portray themselves as acquaintances and steal digital identities, driving demand for hi-tech cybersecurity solutions.

10 Aug 2024 - 12:00PM

Emerging technologies have given online fraudsters new levels of sophistication, but they are also helping cybersecurity companies fight back. Illustration: Henry Wong

Bangladesh

Nearly 100 dead as renewed anti-government protests rock Bangladesh

Bangladesh tightened a nationwide curfew and ordered a shutdown of mobile internet services to quell deadly protests.

5 Aug 2024 - 10:33AM

Men run past a shopping centre which was set on fire by protesters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: AP

China economy

Opinion | China’s tourism policy must now go beyond visa-free travel

China must make it easier for foreigners to experience the country and citizens to travel abroad if it wants to reconnect with the world.

3 Aug 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

Britain

Ex-BBC anchor Huw Edwards pleads guilty to indecent child images charges

Edwards was the BBC’s highest paid journalist and top news anchor until he quit in April, following allegations he had paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos

1 Aug 2024 - 2:46AM

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