Five Eyes Alliance Demands Backdoors in Encrypted Applications

The Five Eyes Alliance, which includes the intelligence agencies of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, has demanded that technology companies implement backdoors in encrypted applications. This would allow law enforcement agencies to access the data necessary to combat cybercrime, according to Agence France-Presse.

Senior officials stated that the growing number of end-to-end encrypted apps, such as Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, “creates serious challenges for public safety.”

“While encryption is vital and privacy and cybersecurity should be top priorities, this should not come at the expense of completely preventing law enforcement and the technology industry itself from countering the most dangerous illegal content and activities online,” the officials explained.

India and Japan, which cooperate with the Five Eyes Alliance, have supported this demand.

Privacy advocates argue that introducing backdoors, which would allow law enforcement to access user messages, could endanger dissidents and strengthen the influence of certain authoritarian governments.