The House of Lords has passed a series of amendments to the Online Safety Bill that aim to impose safeguards to Ofcom's powers to use “accredited technology” to scan encrypted messages for child sexual abuse material. 

Companies that provide encrypted messaging services - including Signal, WhatsApp and Apple - have opposed these powers, with some of them stating they would rather leave the UK than provide a less-secure service to users. 

However, the government has maintained the powers are necessary to prevent the distribution of child pornography and protect children from being exposed to harmful content.

Government minister Lord Parkinson told peers he acknowledged "the concerns which have been aired about how these powers work with encrypted services" but he said strong safeguards had been built in to protect privacy.

The amendments to the legislation would require a “skilled person” to write a report for Ofcom before it can use its...