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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Dan Milmo Global technology editor

UK ministers seek to allay WhatsApp and Signal concerns in encryption row

Signal WhatsApp United Kingdom Ofcom X Meredith Whittaker Stephen Parkinson Will Cathcart NSPCC
A mobile phone user holds a device showing the Signal app download screen
Signal’s president, Meredith Whittaker, said the government statement provided ‘vital clarity’. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Ministers have attempted to head off a threatened exodus of messaging apps from the UK by assuring tech firms they cannot be forced to scan encrypted texts indiscriminately for illegal content.

WhatsApp and Signal have threatened to quit the UK over a provision in the online safety bill that allows Ofcom to order a messaging service to use “accredited technology” to look for and take down child sexual abuse material.

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