Teenagers and young adults were filled with rage when they found out they could soon be seeing their favourite messaging and social media apps disappear forever in the United Kingdom. David Cameron vowed to make it impossible for terrorists to communicate via private messaging applications.
He stated, “If I’m Prime Minister I will make sure it is a comprehensive piece of legislation that makes sure we do not allow terrorists safe space to communicate with each other.”
David Cameron could block WhatsApp and Snapchat if he wins the next election, as part of his plans for new surveillance powers announced in the wake of the shootings in Paris.
The Prime Minister said that he would stop the use of methods of communication that cannot be read by the security services even if they have a warrant. But that could include popular chat and social apps that encrypt their data, such as WhatsApp.
Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime also encrypt their data and could be banned along with other encrypted chat apps like Telegram.
And privacy groups have repeatedly criticised attempts to limit the use of privacy tools in the name of security. When the government announced plans to crack down on the darknet, for example, privacy groups have warned that much of the tools are used by people in oppressed countries and victims of crime to stay safe. Companies such as WhatsApp have remained committed to keeping their services encrypted and unable to be read by authorities, a project which has stepped up in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations on NSA surveillance.
