WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart has refused to comply with a new UK cybersecurity bill that aims to ban peer-to-peer encryption technology used in chat apps, including WhatsApp. Speaking during his visit to the UK to meet with lawmakers to discuss the new law, Cathcart called the law the most dangerous law currently being discussed in the Western world, according to The Guardian.
Cathcart stressed that the company will not respond to government requests for decryption, stressing that app users around the world want security and privacy.
He said it was unwise to lower the app’s security in a way that affected those users, adding that 98% of the app’s users were outside the UK, referring to the possibility of the company leaving the UK market if the law were activated.
End-to-end encryption is the most secure technology for maintaining user privacy, because the technology used in messaging applications does not allow anyone to decrypt messages other than the interlocutors themselves. WhatsApp can’t read messages sent through its service, making it difficult to meet legal requirements to hand over messages to authorities, as a new law gives the British government the power to demand the removal of encryption.
By law, the government or the UK Telecommunications Authority may require WhatsApp to implement a content moderation policy that cannot be met without decryption. And if the company refuses to comply, it could be subject to fines of up to 4% of the total annual revenue of Meta, which owns the app, unless the company exits the UK market entirely.
At the same time, the debate over the use of end-to-end encryption is growing as governments and law enforcement agencies demand access to encrypted communications to combat illegal activities such as terrorism and child sexual abuse. However, privacy advocates argue that weakening encryption would jeopardize privacy rights and make it easier for criminals to get their victims’ sensitive information.
The new law was designed to tackle illegal activities on social media platforms but has been criticized for its potential impact on privacy rights. The law requires social media companies to remove illegal content within a certain period of time and take steps to prevent such content from spreading on the platforms.
The British government says the new law aims to protect children from harmful online content and increase the digital safety of users.
Since its launch, end-to-end encryption technology has raised concerns among governments around the world because the technology prevents governments from viewing messages exchanged between users. As a result, some countries, including China, North Korea and Iran, have blocked their citizens from accessing WhatsApp and other apps that use the same encryption technology, but the issue is being discussed for the first time in a Western country.
