WhatsApp and other messaging apps unite against Online Safety Bill


The firms have signed an open letter opposing the landmark legislation

WhatsApp, Signal and other encrypted messaging services have signed an open letter opposing the Online Safety Bill.

Ministers want the regulator to be able to ask technology companies to monitor users, to combat child abuse images.

The platforms are concerned that the controversial legislation could undermine end-to-end encryption – which means the message can only be read on the sender and the recipient’s app and by no other party, including the likes of Whatsapp.

Signal and WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, have previously warned they would withdraw their services from Britain before they would accept the terms of the bill.

But child safety campaigners, including the NSPCC, insist the move is the only way to police child pornography.

The government maintains it would not outlaw end-to-end encryption and that it will retain privacy.

A spokesperson said: “Tech companies have a moral duty to ensure they are not blinding themselves and law enforcement to the unprecedented levels of child sexual abuse on their platforms.”

In an open letter, the operators of encrypted messaging apps warn: “Weakening encryption, undermining privacy and introducing the mass surveillance of people’s private communications is not the way forward.”

UK-based messenger Element claimed the bill was “outright dangerous” and would weaken national security. The app is used by the likes of the Ministry of Defence, US Marine Corps and Ukraine’s armed forces

The firm’s chief executive Matthew Hodgson said: “Bad actors don’t play by the rules. Rogue nation states, terrorists, and criminals will target that access with every resource they have.”

“It’s a shock to see the UK, a country that symbolises democracy and freedom, introducing routine mass surveillance and fundamentally undermining encryption.”

However, the NSPCC described private messaging as the “frontline of online child sexual abuse”.


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