An international coalition consisting of the NCA and FBI has expressed concern that Meta’s choice to encrypt direct messages has the potential to pose a danger to children
Meta’s plans to encrypt direct messages on Facebook Messenger and Instagram have been criticized by a coalition of powerful law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, Interpol, and Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA). This alliance believes that such a move would undermine their ability to protect young users from harm.
The Virtual Global Taskforce, which consists of 15 agencies chaired by the NCA, has raised concerns about Meta’s impending design choices. This move could potentially result in severe consequences, as per the VGT, which includes members such as Europol and the Australian federal police.
According to the coalition, Meta’s choice to encrypt direct messages on its platforms, thereby restricting access to the intended recipients only, is a deliberate design decision that diminishes safety protocols and hinders efforts to safeguard young users.
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) has commended Meta for its collaboration with the American National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which serves as a central hub for reports related to online child sexual abuse. As per the alliance, Meta has submitted more such cases to the NCMEC than any other provider. However, the VGT expressed concerns that this lead would be lost after implementing “end-to-end encryption” (E2EE) for messages. It stated that it has not yet received any assurance from Meta that the safety protocols introduced post-E2EE would be as effective as, or better than, the current detection methods.
According to a spokesperson from Meta, in a statement, the majority of the British populace already depend on apps that use encryption. The spokesperson further stated that Meta has introduced safety measures to prevent, detect, and take action against online child sexual abuse while maintaining online privacy and security. As Meta continues with its plans to implement end-to-end encryption, the spokesperson emphasized the company’s dedication to collaborating with law enforcement and child safety specialists to ensure the safety of young users on their platforms.
The spokesperson stated that in David Wilson’s case, they had reported Cybertips to authorities using both public and private information. They added that Meta has established detection systems that use behavioural signals and account activity to identify malicious actors like David Wilson, without having to rely on the content of private messages. The spokesperson refuted claims that encryption would have hindered Meta’s ability to identify and report accounts like David Wilson’s to the authorities.
Meta first announced its plans to encrypt all messages on its platforms in 2019, back when the company was still known as Facebook. However, due to technical challenges and regulatory pressure, the implementation has been postponed several times. Initially, the company had announced the integration would not take place until at least 2022. Still, in November 2021, it postponed the deadline to 2023.
Meta’s third messaging platform, WhatsApp, uses a comparable strategy to tackle online child sexual abuse, but it refers far fewer cases to NCMEC. According to data released by the non-profit in March 2022, Facebook reported 22 million incidents of online child exploitation in 2021, while WhatsApp reported only 1.3 million. Other encrypted platforms with similar user bases, such as Apple’s iMessage, reported only 160 cases.
The Virtual Global Taskforce’s intervention occurred two days after WhatsApp joined forces with other encrypted messaging applications, including its competitor Signal, to urge the UK government to safeguard E2EE in the online safety bill. These services implied that they might have to exit the UK rather than comply with the new law if it attempted to criminalize encryption.
