Facebook Messenger

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By Chris Vallance & Louisa PilbeamBBC News

Facebook's owner Meta has hit back at a new government campaign strongly critical of its plans to encrypt messages.

Protecting messages with end-to-end-encryption (e2ee) would mean that they could only be read by sender and recipient.

The government says this hides child exploitation, abuse and grooming.

Meta argues that encryption protects users from invasion of privacy.

" We don't think people want us reading their private messages" The Firm<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> said.

" The overwhelming majority of Brits already rely on apps that use encryption to keep them safe from hackers, fraudsters and criminals" it added.

It said that it had spent The Last<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect and combat abuse while maintaining online security.

" As we Roll Out<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> end-to-end encryption, we expect to continue providing more reports to law enforcement than our peers due to our industry leading work on keeping people safe" it said.

But The plans mean hundreds of child abusers could escape punishment, according to The UK's home secretary.

Moral choices

The new campaign was in May.

At The Time<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> he blamed Mark Zuckerberg<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> for The Plan<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> <Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - criticising what he called The " extraordinary moral choice" to expand encryption.

Meta - The American<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> company of which Mr Zuckerberg is chief Executive<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - has announced it will add e2ee to all Facebook Messenger<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> chats, by default, by The End<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of The year.

Meta already owns encrypted messaging app WhatsApp. Other platforms such as Signal and Apple's iMessage also use encryption. All these platforms have criticised measures in The recently passed Online Safety<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Bill that might undermine The privacy of encrypted messages.

The Home Secretary Suella Braverman<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> set out her concerns to Meta in a letter co-signed by technology experts, law enforcement, survivors and leading child safety charities In July<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

But on Wednesday She Said<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> : " Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers. They must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption. "

This is something Meta disputes. The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> understands that The tech firm maintains it supplied that information In July<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> . Much of The Information<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> it has is now published online.

: " When e2ee is default, we will also use a variety of tools, including Artificial Intelligence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , subject to applicable law, to proactively detect accounts engaged in malicious patterns of behavior instead of scanning private messages".

It also sets measures The Firm<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> takes to protect children, such as restricting people over 19 from messaging teens who don't follow them.

But The National<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Crime Agency's (NCA) director of general threats, James Babbage, said if The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> introduces end-to-end encryption it will " massively reduce our collective ability" to protect children.

" We Are<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> not asking for new or additional law enforcement access, we simply ask that Meta retains The Ability<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to keep working With Us<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to identify and help prevent abuse, " He Said<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

As part of its campaign against The Move<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , The Home Office<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> has joined The Internet<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Watch Foundation (IWF) to provide a guide for parents to " advise them how best to keep their children safe if Meta does implement end-to-end encryption".

It has also supported The production of a film against Meta 's plans, which includes testimony from a survivor of child Sexual Exploitation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> online.

The IWF says its data shows prevalence of The Most<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> severe forms of online child sexual abuse have More Than<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> doubled since 2020.

'Magical thinking'

Powers in The Online Safety<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Bill which was passed on Tuesday enable The regulator Ofcom to compel companies to deploy approved technology that would enable them to identify child sexual abuse material in encrypted messages.

Government experts say there is technology available which would allow end-to-end encryption to take place, whilst still alerting authorities to child Sexual Exploitation<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

However many other experts argue this is " magical thinking" and that allowing scanning for Child Abuse<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> content would necessarily involve weakening The privacy of encrypted messages.

Ciaran Martin<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , The former head of The National<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Cyber Security Centre, has previously told The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> that scanning for Child Abuse<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> content in encrypted messaging apps would involve processes that could undermine privacy for all users.

" Essentially it's building a door that doesn't currently exist, not into The encrypted messaging app but into devices, which could be used or misused by people who aren't interested in protecting children for more nefarious purposes" He Said<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

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Source of news: bbc.com