From the United Kingdom to Sweden, encrypted communications are increasingly attacked as the authorities look for ways to better monitor people’s chats to combat crime. Signal, one of the best encrypted messaging applications, however, is not willing to compromise its privacy and security.
“Signal’s position on this is very clear: we will not return, adulterate or disturb the robust privacy and security on which people depend,” said Signal President Meredith Whittaker, during a panel at the Rightscon 25 conference on Tuesday, February 25.
“Whether this disturbance or rear door is called the client’s side or the elimination of encryption protections of one or another characteristics similar to what Apple was pushed to do in the United Kingdom,” he added.
Whittaker’s comments arrive days after Apple was forced to kill the end -to -end encryption function of ICloud in the United Kingdom after the order of a government to create a rear encryption door to allow access to the application of the law to user data. Sweden is also considering introducing a new law that requires that all encrypted communications applications create a similar back door.
UK attack against encryption
For almost a week, since then on Friday, February 21 to be exact, people in the United Kingdom have not been able to use the Advanced Advanced Data Protection Function (ADP) in ICLOUD.
While it is not a predetermined feature, Apple launched ADP in 2022 to provide an additional protection layer in all data stored in ICloud through end -to -end encryption technology. This means that not even the supplier can access these files.
The great technological giant eliminated the characteristic instead of complying with the order of the United Kingdom encryption door, ensuring that this decision does not affect the ICloud data categories that are encrypted from end to end by predetermined. These include user health data, passwords, ICLOUD messages and Apple card transactions. You can see everyone else on Apple’s support page.
“As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or a master key for any of our products or services and we will never do it,” Apple explained in a written statement at that time.
However, the impact that this movement will have on the privacy of users inside and outside the country is not yet clear. What would happen when UK users go abroad, for example? And what about foreign users traveling in the United Kingdom? The most important thing, perhaps, will eliminate ADP sufficient for the United Kingdom authorities?
These are some of the questions that still need an answer. However, for Signal, it is not negotiable and guarantees, once again, that the company is ready to leave the United Kingdom market instead of undermining encryption.
Sweden and more anti-cifiled efforts
The United Kingdom is not the only country that pushes to choose the blockade of encrypted communications to facilitate criminal investigations.
Sweden has recently joined the list of governments that they consider approveing legislation to be mandatory for Signal, WhatsApp and Imessage to create a back door of encryption in their software. If you succeed, the new rules could go into force since March 2026.
Once again, talking to the SVT of Swedish media Nyheter, Whittaker has recently reiterated the company’s position. She said: “This means asking us to break the encryption that is the basis of our entire business. Ask us to store data would undermine all our architecture and never do that. We would prefer to leave the Swedish market completely.
This is because Whittaker added: “Our responsibility is to offer technology that defends human rights in an era in which these rights are violated in more and more places.”
Know?
Encryption refers to data struggle in an illegible form to avoid third -party access. End -to -end encryption is the reiteration that messaging applications and secure email services, among other tools, use to protect data in traffic maintaining private between the sender and the receiver, at the end at the end.
Out of Sweden, the EU has also been trying to approve a proposal to scan the private communications of citizens, the encrypted included, since 2022 to stop the propagation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Considered chat control by his critics, the bill continues to receive the rejection of experts and legislators equally, that they could not find a commitment after almost three years and two lighter versions.
In January, the Chief of Europol, Catherine de Bolle, reiterated such efforts to break the encryption, arguing that “anonymity is not a fundamental right” and technology giants have the “social responsibility” to give police access to the encrypted messages used by criminals.
At the same time, however, recent events such as salt typhoon attack in all the main telecommunications of the United States have shown how encryption is crucial for the privacy and safety of everyone’s data. On that occasion, even the experts in the FBI and the CISA have been calling citizens to change to encrypted services after this unprecedented cyber attack.
What follows?
The signal is not alone among the technological community that calls the campaign against encryption. For example, a group of more than 100 civil society organizations, technology companies and cybersecurity experts have also urged the United Kingdom’s government to terminate its order to Apple, warning how a rear ICloud door “endangers the security and privacy of millions.”
The way to mitigate legal actions against encryption is certainly full of challenges for privacy and technology experts. However, users may be sure that the signal undertakes to defend themselves.
“We will continue to go back,” Whittaker said, pointing out how incidents such as Salt Typhoon are a tangible example of what cryptographers, human rights experts, journalists and the technical community in general have been saying for decades: “You cannot build a safe back door.”
She added: “Our position does not change. It does not change depending on the year, it does not change depending on the jurisdiction. It is actually quite simple.”
