Spying on WhatsApp Is a crime, rules Italian high court

Rome — Italy’s Court of Cassation has ruled that accessing a partner’s WhatsApp messages without consent is a criminal offense, punishable by up to ten years in prison. The decision came after the court rejected the appeal of a man convicted of unlawfully retrieving private chats and call logs from his ex-wife’s mobile phones.

The man had accessed two password-protected phones belonging to his former spouse and extracted WhatsApp conversations and call records, which he later submitted during divorce proceedings to support his claims of infidelity. The Court of Appeal in Messina had previously found him guilty of unauthorized access to an information system, along with a separate count of coercion.

According to court documents, the woman initially filed a complaint in March 2022, accusing her ex-husband of obsessive and invasive behavior, including unauthorized access to her private messages. A follow-up complaint in March 2023 revealed that he had also retrieved data from a lost work phone and another device she was still using. Both devices were reportedly protected by passwords.

In its reasoning, the Court of Cassation emphasized that WhatsApp qualifies as an "information system" under Italian law. The platform, the judges noted, is a software application that facilitates communication through messages, voice calls, and video calls using computer networks. As such, accessing it without the owner’s permission meets the legal definition of a cybercrime.

The court clarified that even if someone is given limited access to a phone, remaining in the system beyond the agreed time or viewing content without specific consent is still considered a criminal act. It also rejected the defense’s claims that the phones were not password-protected and that the complaint had been filed too late.

The ruling establishes an important precedent in cases involving digital privacy, particularly in the context of domestic and marital disputes. Although digital messages are often used to support claims in civil court cases, the judgment underscores that obtaining such evidence through unauthorized means can result in serious criminal consequences.

This case adds to a growing body of legal decisions in Italy that reinforce the protection of digital communications as private spaces, even between spouses.

PS