UK Urges Meta To Prioritize Child Safety Over Encryption On Instagram And Facebook Messenger

The United Kingdom has urged Meta Platforms Inc. META to prioritize child safety over encryption on Instagram and Facebook Messenger following the passage of the Online Safety Bill, expressing concerns about potential risks to children from sexual abuse.

What Happened: As Meta gears up to extend its end-to-end encryption to Facebook Messenger and Instagram, the U.K.’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has underscored the importance of child safety in the digital landscape, reported Reuters.  

“Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers,” she said. “They must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption.”

In response, Meta highlighted the company’s commitment to safety. 

A spokesperson for the company said, “We don’t think people want us reading their private messages so have spent the last five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect, and combat abuse while maintaining online security.” 

The tech giant plans to release updates, including restrictions on adults messaging teenagers who do not follow them and using technology to identify and combat malicious behavior.

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Why It’s Important: The Online Safety Bill, passed by the U.K. parliament, will impose stricter requirements on social media platforms to protect children from harmful content. 

However, the bone of contention lies in the clash between end-to-end encryption and the government’s intent to combat child abuse. 

While messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, and iMessage oppose provisions they believe could compromise encryption, the government maintains that the bill doesn’t ban encryption but seeks responsible action from tech companies to stop child abuse, including developing technologies to scan encrypted messages.

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