UK Online Safety Bill threatens encryption – Signal threatens shut down.

A newly proposed bill in the UK would force private message providers to scan all content for highly illicit material. Many experts claim that this move is a direct threat to end-to-end encryption. The popular messaging app Signal threatens to seize all of its operations in the UK if the bill is approved.

About the Bill

The bill itself, named ‘Online Safety Bill’ is reportedly created with the purpose of protecting children. It proposes that all message providers have to bypass end-to-end encryption and scan every message. This includes all social media providers. The bill is supposed to help reduce illicit child abuse material and terrorism. Any corporations refusing to comply will be met with massive fines and penalties.

The backlash

Many have been quick to criticize the bill, calling this section a “spy clause”. Some companies have also criticized this bill, including signal and facebook. Signal threatened to pull its application from British stores if the bill is passed. The founder of signal stated “We would rather walk than undermine the security of our users”. Others are worried that the bill can be adapted in the future for surveillance purposes.

If passed, experts fear that this will be the end of end-to-end encryption in the UK, as for companies to review messages they have to be in readable format. This is a true argument, and the bill is likely to undermine the purpose of end-to-end encryption and introduce many new potential threats.

Conclusion

This bill has been very controversial, and has generated all sorts of opinions and responses. The US government has trued pushing similar regulations in the past but failed. It is still unclear if the bill will be passed, or amended to remove these clauses. If passed, it is expected to mark a major shift in how companies manage data, and what messaging apps are available.