WhatsApp users in the UK face an 'unprecedented threat' to their safety and privacy under new government proposals, according to the app's boss.
Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, has issued a public warning to British residents that the UK's Tory government could soon get the power to read your private messages.
The government's Online Safety Bill includes a proposal to 'break' end-to-end encryption, a security tool that ensures nobody can intercept your WhatsApp messages.
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Mr Cathcart said it 'poses an unprecedented threat to the privacy, safety and security of every UK citizen and the people with whom they communicate'.
In an open letter, Mr Cathcart said: "As currently drafted, 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, which would fundamentally undermine everyone’s ability to communicate securely."
He added: "The UK Government must urgently rethink the Bill, revising it to encourage companies to offer more privacy and security to its residents, not less. Weakening encryption, undermining privacy, and introducing the mass surveillance of people’s private communications is not the way forward."
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The Conservative government says it isn't its 'intention' for the bill to lead to mass surveillance, but WhatsApp says that removing end-to-end encryption would endanger people's privacy and security entirely.
The encrypted messaging app, which is owned by the same company as Facebook, has previously warned that it could pull its services from the UK entirely if the proposals make it into law.
The Information Commissioner's Office previously told the Star: "End-to-end encryption supports the security and privacy of online communications, keeping people safe online. Any interventions that could weaken encryption must be necessary and proportionate. Where less intrusive measures are available, they should be used.
"We want users of online services to have confidence that both their safety and privacy will be upheld. We therefore support the development of technological solutions that facilitate the detection of illegal content without undermining privacy protections for everyone."
"We are already working closely with Ofcom on the intersections between the online safety and data protection regimes and this will continue as the online safety regime comes into force."
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