UK Urges Meta Not to Roll Out End-To-End Encryption on Messenger and Instagram

Data privacy laws have never been as important as they are today. So much data is generated online, with passwords, email addresses, and browser histories among the most important sources. Big tech continues to come under fire for their user data policies, many of which, despite having the best technologies, leave room for illegal access to user data. Even end-to-end encryption, popular as it is, is not without its demerits. 

What Is E2EE?

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a means of facilitating digital communications such that the data sent cannot be accessed or intercepted by a third party, including the facilitating server. In end-to-end encryption, the data is encrypted at the point of origin and decrypted at the endpoint. Thus, the full responsibility for the discretion of the data sent rests on only the sender and receiver. Anyone trying to intercept the data communication would only access the encrypted version, which is not possible to decrypt. Still, end-to-end encryption has its limitations. For instance, it doesn’t hide message metadata. The data is only protected in transit and remains vulnerable at either endpoint. 

Big Tech and E2EE

WhatsApp introduced E2EE in 2016. Its twin app, Facebook Messenger, offers it as a separate service and plans to roll it out as standard. Meta’s tech rival Google also recently began testing end-to-end encryption on its digital messaging service. Also, communications technology company Zoom began technical previews of E2EE in October, with feedback determining whether it will expand its use.

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Data Protection Regulation in the UK

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The Data Protection Act of 2018 controls the use of personal data by the government, businesses, and organisations. This regulation is the UK’s implementation of the broader General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR is currently enforced across various data agencies, with tech companies and online advertisers having to follow strict data protection principles. All data must be used and handled fairly, lawfully and transparently without compromising the privacy of users. The law informs internet users of the type of data that the government and other organisations store about them. 

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Meta Adopts E2EE on Instagram and Messenger

With Meta roused to implement end-to-end encryption across Messenger and Instagram direct messages, the UK government has urged the tech giant to reverse the decision. This is in spite of Meta’s claim that E2EE  reinforces safety and security. Representatives from relevant government agencies only want Meta to roll out the technology, provided that there are safety measures to protect children from sexual abuse. This is in light of the Online Safety Bill recently passed by the British parliament.

Online Safety Bill

The UK’s recently passed Online Safety Bill contains measures that ensure that child sexual abuse material is not transmitted through digital services. Providers of messaging services, such as Meta, are required to develop and deploy software that will scan phones for prohibited content. Tech companies have not embraced this change, pointing to the capacity of the regulation to render encryption inefficient. They insist that such measures will only page the way for routine, general, and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages. Subsequently, this would undermine the capacity for secure digital communications.

Conclusion

The UK government insists that it has no intention of breaking encryption. However, its Online Safety Bill is seemingly at loggerheads with Meta’s impending E2EE rollout for Messenger and Instagram direct messages. It remains to be seen whether Meta will innovate new ways to ensure that its end-to-end encryption technology serves the two-fold purpose of protecting user data and complying with existing regulations. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Has the UK Government Said About E2EE?

Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman strongly supports encryption for online users. However, such technology, despite its many merits, could not come at the expense of children’s safety. According to Reuters, she stated that “Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers. They must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption. Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers. They must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption.”

What Does Meta Think of Its E2EE Technology?

Meta maintains that the overwhelming majority of locals already rely on apps that use encryption to keep them safe from hackers, fraudsters, and criminals. The platform insists on the fact that users don’t want service providers reading their private messages. As such, it has spent the last five years developing strong safety measures to prevent, detect and combat child abuse without compromising. However, it is expected that social media providers will have to deal with stricter regulations aimed at protecting children from accessing harmful online content.

Is E2EE Bad?

The main demerit of end-to-end encryption is that it creates an opportunity for cyber criminals to communicate freely and spread their malicious messages without a third party to read and perform security checks on their messages. As such, E2EE, despite its purpose in protecting the privacy of individuals, inadvertently facilitates the protection of the confidentiality of criminals.