Australia’s eSafety commissioner waters down child abuse detection rules in online safety standards
Observer business profile
‘Encryption is deeply threatening to power’: Meredith Whittaker of messaging app Signal
April 2024
The Agenda
Australia’s big encryption-busting laws have done little more than give authorities the power to ask nicely
Paul Karp
Terror watchdog condemns WhatsApp for lowering UK users’ minimum age to 13
January 2024
Child sexual abuse: Self-generated imagery found in over 90% of removed webpages
NYPD faces backlash as it prepares to encrypt radio communications
December 2023
What to do about Sunak’s silly plan to curb social media for under-16s? Highlight and delete
Chris Stokel-Walker
The worries about online encryption are overblown. As for teenagers obeying a blanket ban: good luck with that, says tech writer Chris Stokel-Walker
Child safety groups and prosecutors criticize encryption of Facebook and Messenger
Meta submitted nearly 95% of 29m reports of child sexual abuse material in 2022 and encryption will make it harder to detect
Meta begins rolling out end-to-end encryption across Messenger and Facebook
Under the changes, Meta will no longer have access to the contents of what users send or receive, unless a user reports a message
October 2023
The networker
Encryption services are sending the right message to the quantum codebreakers
John Naughton
Quantum computers may still be years away, but it’s prudent that end-to-end encryption providers are ramping up defences
September 2023
Meta encryption plan will let child abusers ‘hide in the dark’, says UK campaign
In in Home Office initiative, survivors urge Mark Zuckerberg to rethink changes to Messenger and Instagram
August 2023
Australia eyes UK online bill in fight with tech companies over encryption and child safety
UK minister defends plan to demand access to encrypted messages
April 2023
Crime agencies condemn Facebook and Instagram encryption plans
Global alliance including NCA and FBI says Meta’s decision to encrypt direct messages could harm children
February 2023
Signal app warns it will quit UK if law weakens end-to-end encryption
Boss of messaging app says users’ trust at risk from powers in online safety bill to impose monitoring
December 2022
Apple announces new security and privacy measures amid surge in cyber-attacks
Cracking apps: are crimefighters going too far to bring down cartels?
July 2022
UK could force messaging apps to adopt new technology to tackle abuse images
Home secretary says new powers to require tech firms to remove encrypted abuse material would bring privacy and security
June 2022
Encrypted messaging apps should be regulated to tackle extremism, Victorian inquiry hears
Experts say spread of misinformation and use of encrypted services drives far-right extremists and racism
April 2022
Is the end nigh for end-to-end encryption?
Alex Hern
Europe’s new Digital Markets Act aims to make larger messaging platforms ‘interoperable’ with smaller ones. No wonder the tech titans are running scared
