Popular instant messaging (IM) app WhatsApp could soon be banned from use in the UK, according to a warning from the software's boss.
Will Cathcart has revealed that the Tory Government's new Online Safety Bill could potentially pose severe backlash for millions of users of the widely-used service - with an option to bar the secure end-to-end encryption measures used by WhatsApp.
This function prevents a user's messages from being spied on by third parties, only allowing the sender and recipient to view them as it currently stands.
Read more: Urgent WhatsApp scam warning issued to millions of users over devious messages
The Mirror reports that under the new bill though, WhatsApp may have to give up this encryption to allow authorities to check on users' messages for 'illegal content', alleged Will. However, Mr Cathcart has warned WhatsApp would not allow the UK government to do this - and may remove its services from the UK entirely.
He said: "Our users all around the world want security—98 per cent of our users are outside the UK, they do not want us to lower the security of the product. We won't lower the security of WhatsApp. We have never done that—and we have accepted being blocked in other parts of the world."
WhatsApp competitor app Signal has also called out the UK government for the controversial new bill and stated it: "Poised to undermine encryption and create a regime of mass surveillance".
However, the UK government has denied the claims it wants to ban end-to-end encryption. The government told the BBC: "The Online Safety Bill does not represent a ban on end-to-end encryption. It is not a choice between privacy or child safety—we can and we must have both."
However, the Information Commissioner's Office has announced that measures to weaken encryption are necessary for the greater good. It said: "Where less intrusive measures are available, they should be used," and added that it supports: "technological solutions that facilitate the detection of illegal content without undermining privacy protections for everyone."
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