Facebook could again find itself in hot water. Although this time it's not due to privacy violations, but quite the opposite. The company's decision to tighten security on its platform by introducing end-to-end encryption is causing great concern among governments and organizations across the world.
Facebook encryption would undermine the UK's ability to fight terrorists and protect children from paedophiles, said the Home Office's head of national security. In a 15-page letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee that holds hearings on Facebook encryption, Chloe Squires wrote that the social media giant's decision to boost its security would give criminals “a place to hide” as intelligence agencies won't be able to intercept and read their communications.
“In most cases, the investigation is taking place before an attack has occurred and the primary objective of our agencies is to stop it from happening and prevent innocent people from being killed on our streets”, Chloe Squires wrote in her letter to the US Senate committee.
The Home Office's head of national security said that had Facebook introduced end-to-end encryption in recent years, 26 million pieces of terrorist material that were uncovered between October 2017 and March of this year would have gone unnoticed. The same fate would have befallen 12 million reports of child sex abuse that led to 2.500 arrests.
“Those numbers are hard to comprehend, and it is worth pausing to reflect on…
