The U.K. Government is targeting WhatsApp
The U.K. government could secretly force Facebook to strip end-to-end encryption from apps such as WhatsApp, a civil liberties organization has claimed.
The U.K. government has waged a long campaign against end-to-end encryption in consumer apps because it makes interception of communications more difficult. End-to-end encryption thus facilitates crimes such as child abuse, politicians such as the U.K.’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, have argued.
Technology firms and civil rights groups retort that encrypted communication are safer for everyone, not only criminals.
Until now, the U.K. government’s rhetoric against end-to-end encryption has been just that: rhetoric. But there are now signs the government’s resolve is hardening, with the likelihood of forthcoming legislation that would make end-to-end encrypted apps illegal.
“High-risk features”
Earlier this week, a report called Unsafe Children: Driving Up Our Country’s Response To Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation was published by the influential right-wing think tank The Centre for Social Justice. The think tank was founded by a former Conservative leader and the report was endorsed by the former chancellor, Sajid Javid, who is hotly tipped for a return to government.
The report made startling recommendations in respect of apps such as WhatsApp. “We would wish to see that the introduction of a high-risk design feature like end-to-end-encryption without evidencing corresponding safeguards would be a clear breach of the Duty of Care [in the forthcoming Online Safety Bill],” the report stated.
“It will be insufficient for a platform to argue that introducing such a high-risk design feature will have benefits in other spaces like user privacy and preventing online financial crime.”
What’s more, the report seems to take a pre-emptive strike against Facebook, which has said it will introduce end-to-end encryption across all of its messaging platforms. “We will expect [U.K. telecoms regulator] Ofcom to stay zoomed in on the specific impact on child safety and to be able to act retroactively should any high-risk design features be introduced in advance of the Online Safety Bill passing.”
In other words, should Facebook attempt to introduce encryption before it’s made illegal, the Centre for Social Justice wants action taken against the firm.
Ready to act
Priti Patel has long opposed end-to-end encryption in apps
The report comes ahead of a speech the Home Secretary will give next week at an event hosted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), in which she is expected to rail against the use of end-to-end encryption in consumer apps.
An NSPCC report commissioned for the event will, according to a leaked draft seen by Wired, suggest the government devise regulation “expressly targeting encryption”, so as to block any measures that might make it harder for police to intercept communications.
One way in which the government could effectively outlaw encrypted apps is through a Technical Capability Notice (TCN). These were introduced as part of a previous and highly controversial piece of legislation called the Investigatory Powers Act, and could allow the government to effectively strip the apps of encryption without fresh legislation.
“A TCN can compel a service provider to remove electronic protections, including security standards, such as encryption,” says a blog post from the Open Rights Group, a civil liberties organization in the U.K.
The Open Rights Group fears the notice could be implemented without any public discussion. “TCNs are negotiated in secret and are not made public,” the Open Rights Group adds.
“A company which is subject to a TCN is legally barred not only from discussing the specifics of the notice, but from disclosing whether the notice exists at all. Any employee of a company subject to a TCN who disclosed that one existed would be subjected to criminal penalties for breaking a gagging order.”
What happens next?
If the U.K. government were to proceed with a TCN against Facebook and other app developers, it would mean “any private message exchanged on Facebook/WhatsApp could be subject to monitoring and surveillance, with no notice, recourse, or transparency,” the Open Rights Group claims.
However, even with a gagging order in place, it would be hard for the companies to enact such an order without anyone noticing. As the Open Rights Group speculates, the government would much prefer Facebook to back down publicly, which is why it’s continuing its current PR offensive.
Either way, it seems the U.K. government’s determination to rid messaging apps of encryption is stronger than ever.
