Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media, citing the occupation army: We tried to "eliminate" Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida
Al-Mashat: I call on everyone worldwide to avoid dealing with any assets of the entity, and there is still an opportunity for settlers to return to their countries
Al-Mashat: A final warning to all companies in the occupation entity to leave before it’s too late
The Israeli occupation army carries out a deadly airstrike on a populated residential building in the densely populated al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, resulting in dozens of fatalities and injuries: Al Mayadeen's correspondent
Al-Mashat: We say to Gaza, we stand firm regarding our stance, no matter the sacrifices
Al-Mashat: We will meet challenge with challenge, and you will no longer have any sense of security
Al-Mashat: We say to the Zionists, our revenge is unyielding, and dark days await you
Al-Mashat: We will take revenge, and we will come out victorious from the depths of our wounds
Al-Mashat: Our people are capable of overcoming all difficulties and challenges, and the enemy will not be able to break our steadfastness, nor will we be intimidated by raids or terrified by threats
President of the Yemeni Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat: The Government of Change and Building will carry out its duties in a caretaker capacity, and the blood of the martyrs will serve as a motivation for steadfastness and reconstruction

Privacy concerns could have Whatsapp off UK phones soon

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 8 May 2023 16:53
4 Min Read

Ministers have been told that the UK government risks sleepwalking into a conflict with WhatsApp that may result in the messaging software vanishing from the country.

  • x
  • Privacy concerns could have Whatsapp off UK phones soon
    Whatsapp logo on a smartphone. (AFP)

UK Ministers have been told that the government risks sleepwalking into a conflict with WhatsApp that may result in the messaging software vanishing from the country, with options for a peaceful resolution quickly running out.

The internet safety bill, a massive piece of legislation that will affect practically every element of online life in the UK, is at the heart of the debate. The measure, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, has taken more than four years to develop and has included eight secretaries of state and five prime ministers. 

The law empowers Britain's Ofcom to impose obligations on social networks to utilize technology to combat terrorism or child sexual abuse content, with fines of up to 10% of worldwide revenue for non-compliance. To comply with the notice, businesses must utilize their "best endeavors" to build or source technology.

Impossible without breaching privacy

However, for messaging applications that utilize "end-to-end encryption" (E2EE) to safeguard their user data, it is technologically impossible to read user conversations without fundamentally breaching their commitments to consumers; companies claims it is a move they will not take.

“The bill provides no explicit protection for encryption,” according to a coalition of providers, including the market leaders WhatsApp and Signal, in an open letter last month, “and if implemented as written, could empower Ofcom to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services, nullifying the purpose of end-to-end encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users.”

They claim that if forced to pick, they would choose to preserve the security of their non-UK users.

Related News

Israeli tech firm NSO fined $167mln in Pegasus WhatsApp hack case

Signal clone used by Trump security advisor hacked, data may be leaked

Read more: Apple takes a bite out of user privacy 

“Ninety-eight percent of our users are outside the UK,” chief of Whatsapp Will Cathcart, told the Guardian in March.

"They do not want us to lower the security of the product, and just as a straightforward matter, it would be an odd choice for us to choose to lower the security of the product in a way that would affect those 98% of users.”

Legislators have urged the administration to address the issues.

“These services, such as WhatsApp, will potentially leave the UK,” Claire Fox told the House of Lords last week. “This is not like threatening to storm off. It is not done in any kind of pique in that way. In putting enormous pressure on these platforms to scan communications, we must remember that they are global platforms.

“They have a system that works for billions of people all around the world. A relatively small market such as the UK is not something for which they would compromise their billions of users around the world.”

Intentional ambiguity

A Home Office spokesperson stated, “We support strong encryption, but this cannot come at cost of public safety. Tech companies have a moral duty to ensure they are not blinding themselves and law enforcement to the unprecedented levels of child sexual abuse on their platforms," adding that the bill does not ban encryption nor will it require services to weaken them.

The government's approach, according to Richard Allan, the Liberal Democrat peer who served as Meta's director of strategy for a decade until 2019, was one of "intentional ambiguity."

“They are careful to say that they have no intention of banning end-to-end encryption … but at the same time refuse to confirm that they could not do so under the new powers in the bill. This creates a high-stakes game of chicken, where the government think companies will give them more if they hold the threat of drastic technical orders over them. The government’s hope is that companies will blink first in the game of chicken and give them what they want.”

  • United Kingdom
  • Whatsapp
  • Privacy

Most Read

Fierce resistance ambushes target IOF in Gaza Strip

Fierce resistance ambushes target IOF in al-Zaytoun, Gaza City

  • Politics
  • 30 Aug 2025
Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

  • Politics
  • 26 Aug 2025
Although it does seem likely they will launch some kind of operation in northern Gaza, one which will accelerate its mass murder of civilians, but will fail to achieve its stated objectives. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Here is why the Israeli occupation of Gaza won’t work

  • Opinion
  • 26 Aug 2025
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 26 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The martyred Prime Minister Ahmad Ghaleb al Rahawi, in an undated photo, Yemen (social media)
Politics

Yemen mourns Prime Minister, ministers killed in Israeli aggression

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, greets Argentina's President Javier Milei in the IsraelÙ‡ parliament, in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Wednesday, June 11, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Human rights lawyers seek Netanyahu's arrest in Argentina

Radiographer Coralie Gil prepares to enter the room of a COVID-19 patient in the COVID-19 continued care unit at the la Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France, Friday, Dec. 24, 2021 (AP)
Health

French hospitals urged by MoH to prepare for war by March 2026

US Demoratic senators demand baby formula be sent to Gaza
US & Canada

US senators demand 'massive surge' of baby formula for Gaza infants

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS