EncryptionU.S., U.K. and Australia to Call on Facebook to Create Backdoor to Encrypted Messages
The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia will pressure Facebook to create a backdoor into its encrypted messaging apps which would allow governments to access the content of private communications, according to an open letter from top government officials to Mark Zuckerberg. The letter is expected to be released Friday. Law enforcement agencies have long argues that encrypted communications, while protecting privacy, also shields criminals and terrorists, making investigations of crimes and acts of terror much more difficult.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia will pressure Facebook to create a backdoor into its encrypted messaging apps which would allow governments to access the content of private communications, according to an open letter from top government officials to Mark Zuckerberg.
The open letter, dated 4 October, is jointly signed by the U.K. home secretary, Priti Patel; the U.S. attorney general, William Barr; the U.S. acting secretary of homeland security, Kevin McAleenan; and the Australian minister for home affairs, Peter Dutton , and is expected to be released Friday.
Forbes reports that the letter will call on Facebook not to “proceed with its plan to implement end-to-end encryption across its messaging services without ensuring that there is no reduction to user safety and without including a means for lawful access to the content of communications to protect our citizens.”
Also on Friday, the United States and United Kingdom will announce the signing of a “world-first” data access agreement which will allow law enforcement agencies to demand certain data directly from the other country’s tech firms without going through these countries’ governments first. The agreement is designed to facilitate investigations related to terrorism, child abuse and exploitation, and other serious crimes.
The new bilateral agreement is expected to speed the data-sharing process significantly, from months or years to weeks or even days.
The draft open letter was first reported by BuzzFeed News. The governments’ request will reignite a longstanding debate over how to balanceprivacy with public safety.
“We strongly oppose government attempts to build backdoors because they would undermine the privacy and security of people everywhere,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
The Guardian reports that Facebook’s messaging app WhatsApp already employs end-to-end encryption, shielding the content of its 1.5 billion users’ messages from the company itself. In March 2019, Zuckerberg announced plans to integrate Facebook’s other messaging apps, Facebook Messenger and Instagram, with WhatsApp and incorporate end-to-end encryption across the entire service. The Guardian notes that Facebook’s move to expand the use of encryption followed a year in which the company came under global criticism for its failure to protect the data of its users, and it was branded as a pivot toward a “privacy-focused communications platform.”
Law enforcement agencies, however, have long argues that encrypted communications, while protecting privacy, also shields criminals and terrorists, making investigations of crimes and acts of terror much more difficult.
