ORG join over thirty digital and human rights organisations in calling on MPs to protect end-to-end encryption

Over thirty digital and human rights organisations call on MPs to keep their constituents safe by protecting end-to-end encryption from legislative threats 

Today (14 June) Open Rights Group has joined over thirty digital and human rights organisations in calling on MPs to keep their constituents safe by protecting end-to-end encryption from legislative threats. 

The open letter to MPs comes in the context of the draft Online Safety Bill, which seeks to undermine and, in some cases, even prohibit and criminalise the use of end-to-end encryption. Recent messaging strategies promoted by government and the media have openly sought to associate end-to-end encryption with child abuse, and to imply that companies which use it are aiding and abetting child exploitation.

Commenting on the publication of this letter, ORG’s Policy Manager Heather Burns, said: 

“In its draft legislation, the UK Government would introduce rules forcing companies that offer private messaging services to weaken strong encryption in order to monitor user content. But there is simply no way to provide content monitoring and filtering without undermining or removing strong encryption for every user, including children.

“Encryption backdoors or bans are just an invitation for criminals, foreign adversaries, and other dangerous actors to steal, manipulate and use data to attack the safety of UK citizens. Predators can make use of exposed geolocation information, photos and other personal and private details to stalk, bully, threaten and abuse. For some, like our children, religious minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, these risks to privacy and safety are particularly dire.

“By undermining encryption, the UK government is undermining public safety, not safeguarding it.”

ENDS 

Notes to the Editor: 

See our blog and letter: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/mps-encryption-keeps-your-constituents-safe/