Braverman and Facebook clash over private message plans

Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Facebook owner Meta have clashed over the Meta’s plans to encrypt messages. 

They have hit back at a government campaign strongly critical of its plans. 

Messages protected with end-to-end encryption would mean that they could only be read by sender and recipient. 

Braverman has said encryption could not come at the cost of children’s safety, amid fears it might be used to conceal child abuse. 

Meta argues that encryption protects users from invasion of privacy. 

“We don’t think people want us reading their private messages”, the firm said.

“The overwhelming majority of Brits already rely on apps that use encryption to keep them safe from hackers, fraudsters and criminals”, it added.

Braverman set out her concerns to Meta in a letter co-signed by tech experts, law enforcement, survivors and leading child safety charities in July. 

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

Meta disputes this, arguing they have spent the last five years developing safety measures to prevent, detect and combat abuse while maintaining online security.