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WhatsApp is used by 40 million people in the UK and around two billion people worldwide. Mark Zuckerberg bought the app in 2014 for $19bn.
End-to-end encryption means that no one, not even law enforcement or WhatsApp itself, can see the contents of the private messages of its two billion users.
WhatsApp is banned in China, Syria and Qatar. In UAE, users are blocked from making video calls. Iran recently moved to ban its app amid widespread anti-government protests, but WhatsApp insisted it would do everything in its “technical capacity” to continue accepting Iranian users.
Child protection campaigners have claimed this means child abusers can hide their actions on secure messaging apps, while police services have argued it hampers counter-terrorism investigations. Facebook and WhatsApp owner Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, has faced criticism for its efforts to implement end-to-end encryption.
However, Mr Cathcart said the technology was vital to personal privacy in the internet age and was similar to private conversations at home.
Mr Cathcart said: “So far it has only been authoritarian countries that have banned it. We think the best trade-off is to provide a secure service for all who have access to it – and to accept that we are banned in some countries.”
It’s the strongest sign yet that WhatsApp is willing to stop operating its app in the UK rather than bow to demands to change its encryption. Ministers will have the power to force internet providers to stop apps from operating in the UK if they fail to comply with the rules of the Online Safety Bill.
Meta has previously followed through on threats to withdraw from markets. It blocked all Facebook news content in Australia in protest of the Pay for News law. However, after the law was changed, she came back within days and made substantial payments to the publishers.
The Online Safety Bill was re-introduced by Culture Secretary Michelle Donnellan this week. The rules will give regulators the power to impose billions of pounds in fines on tech giants.
The row pits ministers against Silicon Valley. This week, Apple said it will add additional encryption to its iCloud Internet storage service for iPhones.
The government has said the online safety bill could, as a “last resort”, give telecoms regulator Ofcom the power to force private messaging apps to use “highly accurate technology to scan public and private channels for child sexual exploitation content”.
A government spokesman said: “We support strong encryption but it cannot come at the expense of protecting children from exploitation. End-to-end encryption cannot be allowed to hinder efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of the most serious crimes.
“Under the Online Safety Bill Ofcom will have powers to direct platforms failing to tackle child sexual exploitation to take action, where necessary and proportionate. We are committed to continuing to work with the tech industry to develop innovative solutions that protect public safety and privacy.”
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