(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Messaging giant Whatsapp is working with Australian authorities to help locate missing Belgian backpacker, Theo Hayez, who disappeared while visiting tourist hotspot Byron Bay, Trend reported citing Xinhua.
18-year-old, Hayez vanished while walking from a nightclub to his hostel on the night of May 31, and is understood to have sent messages via the Whatsapp service in the hours before his disappearance.
Kai Riemer, professor of Information Technology and Organisation at the University of Sydney, told Xinhua on Tuesday that Whatsapp, which is owned by Facebook, would not have access to message content but would likely have access to metadata.
"WhatsApp is an encrypted service, so would not have access to actual message content, but they should have access to content about who communicates with whom, maybe their location if that is shared by their device and if the device was turned on at the time," Riemer said.
The teen's father Laurent Hayez travelled to Australia to assist in the search and has urged WhatsApp to do whatever they can to help locate him.
"We understand the politics about confidentiality and respect that - however, this is a question of providing assistance to a person in grave danger," the father told reporters.
Whatsapp has said they are assisting police with their enquiries.
"Our hearts go out to Theo Hayez and his family," Whatsapp said in a statement.
"We understand the important work being carried out by law enforcement and are assisting them in accordance with applicable law and our terms of service."
Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news
MENAFN1806201901870000ID1098650543
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.