WhatsApp and other messaging services have united in opposition to the British government’s proposal to require tech companies to break end-to-end encryption in private messages as part of its proposed internet safety legislation.
WhatsApp, Signal, and five other apps owned by Meta signed an open letter stating that the law could give an unaccountable official the ability to compromise the privacy of billions of people worldwide.
The UK’s Online Safety Bill was intended to regulate platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Originally, the Online Safety Bill was intended to establish one of the strictest regulatory regimens for platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
The proposals were watered down in November, when a requirement to halt “legal but harmful content” was removed in order to protect free speech, and the focus was shifted to unlawful content, especially in relation to child safety.
The British government stated that the measure “in no way prohibited end-to-end encryption or required services to weaken encryption.”
However, it wants Ofcom to be able to compel platforms to use accredited technology or to attempt to develop new technology to identify child sexual abuse content.
The signatories of the letter stated that this was incompatible with end-to-end encryption, which allows only the sender and recipient to read a message.
“The bill provides no explicit protection for encryption, and if implemented as written, could empower Ofcom to attempt to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services, thereby defeating the purpose of end-to-end encryption and jeopardizing the privacy of every user,” they said.
A spokesperson for the British government stated, “We support strong encryption, but not at the expense of public safety.”
They stated that the bill poses a “never-before-seen threat to the privacy, safety, and security of every British citizen and the people with whom they communicate around the world while emboldening hostile governments that may seek to draft copycat laws.”
“Tech companies have a moral duty to ensure that they are not blinding themselves and law enforcement to the unprecedented levels of child sexual abuse on their platforms.”