The pending online security law could allow the British authorities to monitor the messaging of its citizens.
Britain craves weakening of message encryption. Iltalehti/AOP
British newspaper The Independent reports, that the network security law that is about to enter the country could lead to the illegal disclosure of the instant messaging service Whatsapp. The head of Whatsapp had commented on the matter Will Cathcart.
– The entry into force of the Data Security Act could require the application’s message encryption to be weakened, Cathcart said.
Britain could demand the company to weaken the encryption, but the company is not agreeing to this. According to Cathcart, this could lead to the company being banned in the country.
Double-edged sword
Message encryption means that no one outside can access the messages. The messages remain between the sender and the recipient.
The upcoming online security law is for the purpose of preventing the spread of terrorist and illegal material more effectively. Weakening the encryption would also enable the authorities to monitor other message traffic.
According to Cathcart, the authorities already have the possibility to request information from the users of the applications if necessary. However, according to him, Whatsapp has not received such requests from the British authorities.
Big Brother monitors
Cathcart suspects that the phenomenon could spread to other countries as well, if Britain starts monitoring the messaging of its citizens. According to him, the states’ perception of illegal content can differ a lot from Britain’s.
– This kind of activity has mostly only happened in states that try to curb the free flow of information for their citizens, says Cathcart.
In certain countries, such as Iran, the application is prohibited. Despite this, people can access it by bypassing firewalls that restrict use, for example by using virtual servers.
– Whatsapp offers a similar service all over the world, and it will not be changed because of one country, says Cathcart.
The bill was initiated by the former prime minister, a conservative politician Boris Johnson on the initiative, and is moving to Parliament’s consideration.