• Login
Whats Current In
No Result
View All Result
  • Blockchain
  • Cyber Security
  • Gadgets & Hardware
  • Startups
    • Angel investing
    • Venture Capital
  • More Tech News
    • AI
    • App Development
    • Cloud & SaaS
    • Gaming
    • Web Development
  • Blockchain
  • Cyber Security
  • Gadgets & Hardware
  • Startups
    • Angel investing
    • Venture Capital
  • More Tech News
    • AI
    • App Development
    • Cloud & SaaS
    • Gaming
    • Web Development
No Result
View All Result
Whats Current In
No Result
View All Result
Home Apple Computer

WhatsApp Says It Would Leave UK If Government Tried to Weaken Encryption

Tim Hardwick by Tim Hardwick
March 10, 2023
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
WhatsApp Improving Video Calling With Support for More People, Picture in Picture

WhatsApp would exit the U.K. market rather than be in thrall to the government’s proposed Online Safety Bill if it undermined the app’s end-to-end encryption, the platform’s chief has said (via BBC News).

RELATED POSTS

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Now Available to Pre-Order in Yellow

Yellow iPhone 14 Unboxing Videos Shared Ahead of Next Week’s Launch

Apple Store Down Ahead of Yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Pre-Orders



End-to-end encryption ensures that only the user and the person they are communicating with can read or listen to what is sent, and nobody in between, not even Meta/Facebook, can gain access to this content. However, the government, and some child-protection charities, argue that such encryption hinders efforts to combat the growing problem of online child abuse.

Under the bill, the government could force WhatsApp to apply content moderation policies that are impossible to implement without removing end-to-end encryption. If WhatsApp refused to do so, it could face fines of up to 4 percent of its parent company Meta’s annual turnover.

But speaking during a U.K. visit in which he will meet legislators to discuss the government’s internet regulation, Meta’s head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, said it would refuse to comply if asked to weaken its encryption, since it would do so for all users.

“Our users all around the world want security – 98% of our users are outside the U.K., they do not want us to lower the security of the product,” he said, adding that the app would rather accept being blocked in the U.K. “We’ve recently been blocked in Iran, for example. We’ve never seen a liberal democracy do that.”

Encrypted messaging app Signal’s president Meredith Whittaker also recently said it “would absolutely, 100% walk” and halt its service in the U.K. if the bill required it to scan messages.

Asked if he would go as far as Signal, Cathcart told the BBC: “We won’t lower the security of WhatsApp. We have never done that – and we have accepted being blocked in other parts of the world.”

“When a liberal democracy says, ‘Is it OK to scan everyone’s private communication for illegal content?’ that emboldens countries around the world that have very different definitions of illegal content to propose the same thing,” Cathcart said.

Buy JNews
ADVERTISEMENT

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the U.K., used by more than seven in 10 adults who are online, according to communication regulator Ofcom.

The U.K. government’s Online Safety Bill is expected to return to parliament this summer.

Tags: WhatsApp, Encryption

This article, “WhatsApp Says It Would Leave UK If Government Tried to Weaken Encryption” first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Share54Tweet34Pin12
Tim Hardwick

Tim Hardwick

Related Posts

Apple Announces New Yellow Color Option for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
Apple Computer

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Now Available to Pre-Order in Yellow

March 10, 2023
Yellow iPhone 14 Unboxing Videos Shared Ahead of Next Week’s Launch
Apple Computer

Yellow iPhone 14 Unboxing Videos Shared Ahead of Next Week’s Launch

March 10, 2023
Apple Store Down Ahead of Yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Pre-Orders
Apple Computer

Apple Store Down Ahead of Yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Pre-Orders

March 10, 2023
Kuo: Apple to Launch Redesigned HomePod With 7-Inch Display in 2024
Apple Computer

Kuo: Apple to Launch Redesigned HomePod With 7-Inch Display in 2024

March 10, 2023
Apple Announces App Store Changes, Including Expanded Pricing Up to $10,000
Apple Computer

Expanded App Store Price Points Now Available for All App Purchases

March 10, 2023
MLB App Now Supports Live Activities
Apple Computer

MLB App Now Supports Live Activities

March 10, 2023

Recommended Stories

Enhanced Protection – The strongest level of Safe Browsing protection Google Chrome has to offer

Enhanced Protection – The strongest level of Safe Browsing protection Google Chrome has to offer

March 12, 2023
Google Trust Services now offers TLS certificates for Google Domains customers

Google Trust Services now offers TLS certificates for Google Domains customers

March 12, 2023
Sneaky hackers reverse defense mitigations when detected

New Exfiltrator-22 post-exploitation kit linked to LockBit ransomware

February 27, 2023

Popular Stories

  • New Python malware backdoors VMware ESXi servers for remote access

    Massive ESXiArgs ransomware attack targets VMware ESXi servers worldwide

    137 shares
    Share 55 Tweet 34
  • Exploit released for actively abused ProxyNotShell Exchange bug

    137 shares
    Share 55 Tweet 34
  • Facts and myths about the warriors who raided Europe and explored the New World

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34
  • RedEyes hackers use new malware to steal data from Windows, phones

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34
  • Bing Chat’s secret modes turn it into a personal assistant or friend

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34
Whats Current In

We bring you the best Premium WordPress Themes that perfect for news, magazine, personal blog, etc. Visit our landing page to see all features & demos.

LEARN MORE ยป

Recent Posts

  • Toncoin [TON] climbs into resistance zone, but momentum favored the bulls
  • The Sandbox [SAND] deserted by users? How NFTs and prices closed Q1
  • DISH slapped with multiple lawsuits after ransomware cyber attack

Categories

  • Apple Computer
  • Blockchain
  • Cyber Security
  • Tech News
  • Venture Capital

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Blockchain
  • Cyber Security
  • Gadgets & Hardware
  • Startups
    • Angel investing
    • Venture Capital
  • More Tech News
    • AI
    • App Development
    • Cloud & SaaS
    • Gaming
    • Web Development

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?