Uber's use of Wickr encrypted messaging system may set legal precedents

SAN FRANCISCO – Top executives at Uber Technologies Inc. used the encrypted chat app Wickr to hold secret conversations, current and former workers testified in court this week, setting up what could be the first major legal test of the issues raised by the use of encrypted apps inside companies. The revelations Tuesday and Wednesday about the extensive use of Wickr inside Uber upended the high-stakes legal showdown with Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo unit, which accuses the ride-hailing firm of stealing its self-driving-car secrets. There is nothing inherently unlawful about instructing employees to use disappearing messaging apps, said Timothy Heaphy, a lawyer at Hunton & Williams and a former U.S. attorney in Virginia. However, companies have an obligation to preserve records that may be reasonably seen as relevant to litigation or that fall under data retention rules set by industry regulators. In Uber's situation, chat logs that could help get to the bottom of the trade secrets case are now inaccessible.