WhatsApp, Signal, Viber sign Open Letter opposing UK Online Safety Bill

An open letter signed by leading technology firms has opposed the UK’s Online Safety Bill, urging UK government to address the risks it poses to data security, protection, and privacy. The letter is co-signed by the likes of WhatsApp/Meta, Signal, Viber, and UK-based Element – all of whom provide end-to-end-encrypted communication services. The letter argues that the current version of the bill poses an unprecedented threat to the privacy, safety, and security of every UK citizen and the people with whom they communicate around the world, while emboldening hostile governments who may seek to draft copy-cat laws.

It comes as the bill, which will be regulated by Ofcom, has its final hearing in the House of Lords, before being passed into law.

Bill breaks end-to-end encryption in messaging services

In its current draft form, the Online Safety Bill forces messaging services to break their end-to-end encryption by implementing third-party scanning of decrypted content. Many have warned that this undermines the security that end-to-end encryption offers, amounting to blanket surveillance. There are fears that this could expose private content to moderators – whether abusive or incorrectly scanned – and provide a new mechanism that can be used by bad actors to access encrypted conversations.

Around the world, businesses, individuals, and governments face persistent threats from online fraud, scams, and data theft, the letter read. “Malicious actors and hostile states routinely challenge the security of our critical infrastructure. End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defences against these threats, and as vital institutions become ever more dependent on internet technologies to conduct core operations, the stakes have never been higher.”

However, the bill could break end-to-end encryption, opening the door to routine, general, and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages of friends, family members, employees, executives, journalists, human rights activists, and even politicians themselves, undermining the ability to communicate securely, the letter stated. “Global providers of end-to-end encrypted products and services cannot weaken the security of their products and services to suit individual governments,” it added.

UK government must rethink Online Safety Bill on privacy, security grounds

The United Nations (UN) has previously warned that the UK government’s efforts to impose backdoor requirements constitute a paradigm shift that raises a host of serious problems with potentially dire consequences, the letter noted. Meanwhile, the government itself has acknowledged the privacy risks the bill poses, although it has said its intention isn’t for the bill to be interpreted this way, it added.

The letter urged UK government to urgently rethink the Online Safety Bill, revising it to encourage companies to offer more privacy and security to residents. The full set of signatories are:

• Matthew Hodgson, CEO, Element
• Alex Linton, Director, OPTF/Session
• Meredith Whittaker, president, Signal
• Martin Blatter, CEO, Threema
• Ofir Eyal, CEO, Viber
• Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta
• Alan Duric, co-founder and CTO, Wire