WhatsApp bosses have hinted at a complete UK shutdown amid a new Online Safety Bill making its way through Government channels.
The new bill will require easier access to messages for police and MI5, with powers to enable law enforcement to access encrypted messages. But Will Cathcart, head of the messaging service at Meta, has suggested he’d rather see the smartphone app blocked for British users than have its security weakened.
Mr Cathcart told the Telegraph : "The ill provides for technology notices requiring communication providers to take away end-to-end encryption – to break it. The hard reality is we offer a global product.
READ MORE: WhatsApp chats can be password protected - and this is how to do it
"It would be a very hard decision for us to make a change where 100% of our users lower their security."
WhatsApp is used by 40 million people in the UK and around two billion worldwide. End-to-end encryption means currently nobody can access users' messages under any circumstances.
Mr Cathcart said the technology was critical to personal privacy in the age of the internet and similar to private conversations in the home. The Online Safety Bill will also give regulators powers to impose billions of pounds in fines on tech giants, the Telegraph said.
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