The UK's largest encrypted messaging services have publicly opposed the government's Online Safety Bill ahead of its final reading in the House of Lords.
The companies' leading executives have signed an open letter asking the UK government to “urgently rethink” sections of the legislation. They warned that in its current version, the Online Safety Bill fails to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy.
“The bill provides no explicit protection for encryption and, if implemented as written, could empower Ofcom to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services - nullifying the purpose of end-to-end encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users,” the letter states.
“In short, the bill poses an unprecedented threat to the privacy, safety and security of every UK citizen and the people with whom they communicate around the world, while emboldening...