Could The U.K. Secretly Strip Encryption From WhatsApp?
Barry Collins, 11 April 2021
The U.K. government could secretly force Facebook to strip end-to-end encryption from apps such as WhatsApp, a civil liberties organization has claimed.
The U.K. government has waged a long campaign against end-to-end encryption in consumer apps because it makes interception of communications more difficult. End-to-end encryption thus facilitates crimes such as child abuse, politicians such as the U.K.’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, have argued.
Technology firms and civil rights groups retort that encrypted communication are safer for everyone, not only criminals.
Until now, the U.K. government’s rhetoric against end-to-end encryption has been just that: rhetoric. But there are now signs the government’s resolve is hardening, with the likelihood of forthcoming legislation that would make end-to-end encrypted apps illegal.
