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LONDON. – WhatsApp, the instant messaging platform owned by US social media giant Meta, has again attacked the UK government over planned legislation it says would “weaken the privacy” of users worldwide.
As Britain’s upper House of Lords prepared to scrutinise the government’s Online Safety Bill (OSB) yesterday, WhatsApp and other messaging services issued an open letter demanding an “urgent rethink” of the legislation.
UK-based signatory Element has warned it could leave the country if the law is passed.
“The UK government is currently considering new legislation that opens the door to trying to force technology companies to break end-to-end encryption on private messaging services,” WhatsApp said in an open letter on its blog page on Monday.
Signed by WhatsApp head Will Cathcart and bosses of other messaging services, including Signal and Wire, the letter stated: “We don’t think any company, government or person should have the power to read your personal messages and we’ll continue to defend encryption technology.”
WhatsApp had said it would refuse to comply with the bill, which has triggered speculation that it could exit the UK market.
Responding on Tuesday to the letter, the office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted the government “will not introduce routine scanning of private communication”.
While the state does “support strong encryption, this cannot come at the cost of public safety”, Sunak’s spokesperson added. – AFP
Online Reporter