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The long-running battle over encryption between tech companies and law enforcement continues, with law enforcement around the world calling on Meta to cancel plans for end-to-end encryption of Facebook and Instagram messages.
End-to-end encryption (often referred to as “E2EE”) increases security and privacy for all users, whether law abiding or not. But government officials have long resisted plans to make the technology more widely available, citing the risk that terrorists, sex traffickers, child molesters and other criminals will use encrypted messages to evade law enforcement.
The most recent call to abandon encryption plans was made today by the Virtual Global Taskforce, a consortium of 15 law enforcement agencies, including two from the US: the FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations. The task force focuses specifically on child sexual abuse; other members include Europol and agencies from the UK, Canada, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and South Korea.
“The announced implementation of E2EE on Meta platforms Instagram and Facebook is an example of a targeted design choice that compromises safety systems and weakens the ability to keep children safe,” the global task force said in a statement on the UK National Crime Agency website. . .
“Meta is currently the primary reporter of detected child sexual abuse to NCMEC,” the task force said, citing the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Meta has made no indication “that any new security systems implemented after E2EE will effectively match or improve on their current methods of detection,” the group said.
“The abuse won’t stop just because companies decide to stop looking,” the group also said, accusing Meta and other tech companies of “blindfolding themselves to child sexual abuse.”
End-to-end encryption is available as an option in Facebook Messenger and Instagram, but the statement from law enforcement was likely spurred by Meta’s plan to enable the security feature in Facebook Messenger by default sometime this year. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, already has end-to-end encryption enabled by default.
Meta: People don’t want us to read private messages
When Ars reached out, Meta issued a statement in response to the Virtual Global Taskforce:
Most Americans already rely on apps that use encryption to securely transfer money, talk to doctors, and communicate privately. We don’t think people want us to read their private messages, so we’ve developed security measures that prevent, detect and take action against this heinous abuse, while preserving online privacy and security. As we continue to roll out our plans for end-to-end encryption, we remain committed to working with law enforcement and child safety experts to ensure our platforms are safe for young people.
A spokesperson for Meta said the company’s plan to make end-to-end encryption the default in Facebook Messenger is still on track to be completed this year. “End-to-end encryption is already optional on Messenger. Our plan is to fully roll it out and make it standard for Messenger users sometime in 2023. We will provide regular updates on our progress,” said Meta. The standard end-to-end encryption plan also applies to Instagram posts, but the Instagram rollout may not take place in 2023, the spokesperson said.
Apple has long-running disputes with the US government over encryption, and Facebook has faced a steady series of calls for the encryption to be removed in recent years. “Since about 2018, the main narrative from law enforcement and intelligence agencies has been that the end-to-end cryptography in messenger products like WhatsApp is making life too easy for sexual predators, while the introduction of end-to-end encryption in Facebook now alleged that Messenger poses additional risk to children,” according to a 2022 paper by Ross Anderson, a security expert and professor at the University of Cambridge.
