Ministers have today banned the use of WhatsApp on government devices following a review into the use of mobile messaging apps.
New rules mean government officials will no longer be able to communicate using any mobile messaging app if on a government-issued device – following a review by former Channel Islands data protection commissioner Emma Martins in December 2024.
The policy applies to all Scottish Government employees including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and Ministers, and states that mobile messaging apps and non-corporate communication channels will not be permitted on government devices.
A small number of business areas will take part in a time-bound and limited transition period until the end of 2025. This includes areas responding to emergencies such as wildfires or for matters of safety and security.
Kare Forbes, deputy first minister, said: “We are setting out a clear approach to ending government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps.”
She added: “This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins’ externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.”
The new policy, which comes into effect today, was implemented after it emerged in the UK Covid inquiry that top civil servants and government ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney, deleted WhatsApp messages referring to government business which had been requested by the inquiry team.
Martins’s independent review of the Scottish Government’s use of mobile messaging apps and non-corporate technology was published in December. In all, she made twenty recommendations, which included using the skills, knowledge and resources around behavioural science to support a stronger culture of compliance for civil servants when it comes to information sharing. She also recommended developing the role of propriety and ethics to be more visible, proactive and involved across the organisation, with ministers and officials receiving the appropriate training.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “None of this changes the fact that the Scottish Government deleted WhatsApp messages on a wholesale basis throughout the pandemic.
“In doing so, they denied the Covid bereaved a full understanding of the decisions that were made, undermining their search for justice and closure. The SNP will have to move mountains before people can be confident this deception won’t happen again.”