Secure messaging applications sign a public letter cautioning about an unparalleled danger to the safety and security of UK citizens.
WhatsApp and Signal, two competing chat applications, have come together to express their concerns about the online safety bill, stating that it may jeopardize the safety and privacy of individuals in the UK. The leaders of both companies, as well as five other secure messaging apps, signed an open letter protesting against the bill, which they fear could effectively make end-to-end encryption illegal.
This encryption method guarantees that only the intended recipient can view the contents of a message, preventing anyone else from accessing it. The letter states that the bill fails to offer any explicit protection for encryption, and if it is implemented in its current form, Ofcom could be authorized to require the active scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication platforms. This would render end-to-end encryption pointless and compromise the privacy of all users. The CEO of WhatsApp has previously stated that the company will not remove end-to-end encryption for UK law.
Will Cathcart, the CEO of WhatsApp, stated last month that the messaging app would rather exit the UK than comply with a requirement to weaken encryption. Cathcart explained to the Guardian that 98% of the app’s users are located outside of the UK, and they do not wish for the product’s security to be compromised. Therefore, it would be an unusual decision to diminish the product’s security in a way that would affect the vast majority of users. The conflict revolves around clauses in the bill that allow Ofcom to force communication providers to take measures to safeguard users from harm. Privacy campaigners argue that these clauses do not account for the possibility that encrypted messaging providers may be incapable of taking such actions without fundamentally undermining the security of their users.
Currently, attention has shifted to a distinct group of technologies referred to as client-side scanning, which advocates claim can monitor encrypted communications without compromising security. However, critics liken this technology to installing a robotic spy on every phone globally.
According to Rich Collard, the associate head of child safety and online policy at the NSPCC, a UK-based child protection charity, the online safety bill is currently undergoing thorough examination and will rightfully oblige platforms to detect and prevent instances of child sexual abuse on their sites and services.
