US, UK, and Australia Try to Block Facebook from Encrypting Messages

Officials from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia are attempting to prevent Facebook from implementing end-to-end encryption in its messaging services. These countries want law enforcement agencies to retain access to messages in a readable format.

On Thursday, American, British, and Australian officials sent an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, asking Facebook to ensure that encryption does not hinder law enforcement from investigating crimes. The letter was signed by US Attorney General William Barr, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

The document specifically states that “companies should not deliberately design their systems to prevent access to content.” The governments believe that encryption will put citizens and society at risk of terrorism and the sexual exploitation of children.

“Security measures implemented in the digital space should not endanger us in the real world,” the letter says.

Representatives from the three countries are calling on Facebook to allow law enforcement full access to content in a readable format.

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