Briefing on end-to-end encryption

Following the tragic terrorist attack in Westminster in which the perpetrator is believed to have opened the WhatsApp messaging service just minutes before launching the attack, the home secretary has called for intelligence agencies and police to be given access to end-to-end encrypted messaging services.  The Labour Campaign for Human Rights believes that the home secretary’s plan to persuade internet and social media platforms to voluntarily put back-doors into encrypted services is not practical or proportionate. This briefing covers the reasons why. 

Following the tragic terrorist attack in Westminster in which the perpetrator is believed to have opened the WhatsApp messaging service just minutes before launching the attack, the home secretary has called for intelligence agencies and police to be given access to end-to-end encrypted messaging services.

The Labour Campaign for Human Rights believes that the home secretary’s plan to persuade internet and social media platforms to voluntarily put back-doors into encrypted services is not practical or proportionate.