The U.K. government is now urging Meta's encrypted messages plan to be halted.
To show that they are serious with their request, the Home Office launched a new campaign on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
UK Urges Meta's Encrypted Messages Plan To Be Halted
This picture taken on January 12, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France shows a smartphone and a computer screen displaying the logos of the Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and their parent company Meta.
According to The Guardian's latest report, the encrypted messaging tech of Meta will only benefit online child abusers.
The Home Office's new campaign explained that if the giant tech firm continues releasing this privacy technology, it will allow child abusers to "hide in the dark."
Government officials explained that Mark Zuckerberg should temporarily halt his encryption plans for Meta's apps until the company develops safety plans to detect child abuse activities on the encrypted messages.
33-year-old Rhiannon-Faye McDonald, an online child abuse victim, shared her concerns regarding Meta's upcoming encryption technology.
She said that Meta's CEO should be responsible enough to reconsider the launch of the new encrypted messages feature on its platforms.
U.K. Home Office Secretary Suella Braverman also criticized Meta.
"Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers. Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers," she said via Benzinga.
Meta plans to release its encryption messages tech on Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
Negative Effects of Meta's Encryption Messages
This photo illustration created in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2023, shows the opening page of Threads, an Instagram app, near the Meta logo. More than 10 million people have signed up to Threads, Meta's rival to Twitter, within the first few hours of its launch, the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said July 6.
Aside from allowing child abusers to effectively target their victims, Meta's encrypted messages can also make it hard for law enforcement to arrest child abusers.
The National Crime Agency explained that encrypting Instagram and Messenger messages can drastically reduce abuse referrals sent to the NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
Meanwhile, multiple child safety campaigners also shared their concerns, saying that Meta could enable abusers to evade detection. If this happens, pedophiles can easily groom children, who are now mostly using many social media platforms.
However, Meta is still defending its encrypted messages plan. The tech company's spokesperson explained that this technology helps them prevent criminals, hackers, and fraudsters from victimizing U.K. residents.
"We don't think people want us reading their private messages so we have spent the last five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect, and combat abuse while maintaining online security," said the official.
The spokesman further stated that once they roll out the end-to-end encryption on Meta platforms, they will ensure that they provide more reports to law enforcement since people's safety is their top priority.
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