Bill provides no explicit protection for encryption
WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart has written an open letter against the controversial online safety bill. In the letter, Mr Cathcart addresses the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and security.
In LetterHe urged the government to protect privacy rights and highlighted the importance of end-to-end encryption as a strong defense against online threats and calls.
“As end-to-end encrypted communications services, we urge the UK Government to address the risks that the Online Safety Bill presents to everyone’s privacy and security. It is not too late to ensure That the Bill is in line with the intention of the Government to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy,” the text read.
He stressed, “End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defenses against these threats, and as critical institutions become more dependent on Internet technologies to conduct core operations, the stakes have never been higher.” are.”
“As currently drafted, the Bill could break end-to-end encryption, the routine encryption of personal messages of friends, family members, employees, officials, journalists, human rights activists and even politicians themselves. , could open the door to general and indiscriminate surveillance, which would fundamentally undermine everyone’s ability to communicate securely.
The bill provides no explicit protections for encryption, and if enacted as written, could empower OFCOM to try to force active scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communications services is – as one may defeat the purpose of end-to-end encryption. result and compromising the privacy of all users,” the letter read.
The bill, introduced by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is an attempt to force Internet companies to remove illegal content such as child sexual abuse or terrorism. However, critics, including Meta, have said that scanning for such content would be inconsistent with the end-to-end encryption that is the normal protection offered by messenger apps.
According to Bloomberg, the bill does not explicitly describe a deterrence mechanism, but calls for fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue if companies do not comply. It could also bring criminal charges against executives if they do not provide regulator Ofcom details on how they run their services upon request.
WhatsApp, Session, Signal, Element, Threema, Viber and Wire have all signed a letter calling on the government to “urgently reconsider” the proposed law. BBC,
According to Bloomberg, Mr Cathcart told reporters last month that an online security bill before parliament could effectively make the service’s privacy features illegal.
Last month, Signal Foundation chair Meredith Whitaker told the BBC her messaging service would leave the UK if the online security bill forced it to weaken its privacy protections.