The UK urged Meta not to roll out end-to-end encryption.

London:

Britain urged META not to roll out end-to-end encryption on Instagram and Facebook Messenger without safeguards to protect children from sexual exploitation following the Online Safety Bill. was approved by Parliament.

Meta, which already encrypts messages on WhatsApp, plans to implement end-to-end encryption in Messenger and Instagram direct messages, saying the technology re-enforces safety and security.

UK Home Secretary Sylla Braverman said she supports stronger encryption for online users but it cannot come at the expense of children’s safety.

“Meta has failed to provide assurances that it will protect its platform from abusers,” he said. “They should develop appropriate security measures to sit with their plans for end-to-end encryption.”

A Meta spokesperson said: “The vast majority of Brits already rely on apps that use encryption to protect them from hackers, fraudsters and criminals.

“We don’t think people want us to read their private messages, so we’ve spent the last five years developing stronger safeguards to prevent, detect and deal with abuse while maintaining online security. have done.”

He said he would provide an update on Wednesday about measures he is taking, such as preventing people over the age of 19 from messaging people who don’t follow them and using the technology to target malicious people. is to identify and take action against behavior based on

“When we roll out end-to-end encryption, we expect to provide more reports to law enforcement than our peers because of our industry-leading work in keeping people safe,” the spokesperson said. are.”

Social media platforms will face tougher requirements to protect children from accessing harmful content when the Online Safety Bill passed by Parliament becomes law on Tuesday.

End-to-end encryption is a bone of contention between companies and the government in the new law.

Messaging platforms led by WhatsApp oppose a provision that they say could force end-to-end encryption to be broken.

However, the government has said the bill does not ban the technology, but instead requires companies to take action to prevent child abuse and develop technology to scan encrypted messages as a last resort. .

Tech companies have said that scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible.