Tag: end to end encryption

WhatsApp Goes: Platform Reportedly Warns It Will Exit India If Asked to Break End-to-End Encryption

WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it might stop operations in India if it is asked to break end-to-end encryption on its platform, as per a report. The Meta-owned instant messaging platform made the statement during the hearing of the petition filed by it and Facebook challenging Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Notably, this rule states that a social media intermediary shall help identify the first originator of a certain message when a competent authority orders it to.

According to a report by Bar and Bench, advocate Tejas Karia, who was representing WhatsApp told a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, “As a platform, we are saying, if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes.” Karia also highlighted that people use the platform as they feel reassured by its focus on privacy and security and because the messages are end-to-end encrypted.

The advocate was referring to Rule 4(2) which states, “A significant social media intermediary providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource as may be required by a judicial order passed by a court of competent jurisdiction or an order passed under Section 69 of the Act by the Competent Authority.”

Karia further argued that this rule will force WhatsApp to store millions of messages on its server for multiple years as the platform does not know which messages might be asked to be decrypted. This effort could also stress the cloud servers of the platform and make the running and upkeep of the servers more expensive. Karia highlighted that WhatsApp has not been asked to share this information anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, Kirtiman Singh, the Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) contended the position that there is a need to have some mechanism on social media to trace certain messages. The Court has held the position that a balance must be struck between both sides. The case has been adjourned to August 14.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


New OTT Releases This Week: Laapataa Ladies, Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare Season 3 and More



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Facebook Messenger Turns End-to-End Encryption on by Default for Individual Chats

Facebook Messenger is finally rolling out support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default for individual chats and calls, the company announced on Wednesday. In the coming weeks and months, Facebook parent Meta says existing conversations will be protected by E2EE and new chats will also be protected by the technology. The company says that E2EE Messenger chats will offer the same features as previously unencrypted conversations including the ability to unsend messages, set chat themes, and send custom message reactions.

In a post detailing the launch of the new features, Messenger head Loredana Crisan said that both one-on-one chats and calls on the messaging app will now be protected by end-to-end encryption. Meta collaborated with experts and governments, academics and advocates to ensure a balance of privacy and safety, according to Crisan.

Just like WhatsApp, which is also owned by Meta, chats on Messenger can no longer be accessed by the company — with one exception. Meta will be able to see the contents of E2EE messages when a conversation participant reports the contents of a conversation — WhatsApp offers the same reporting mechanism.

In January 2022, Meta updated Secret Conversations — its opt-in E2EE chats feature on Messenger — with support for features that are available on regular chats. These include the ability to send GIFs and stickers in chats. Users can also set chat themes in secret conversations. Enabling the 24-hour disappearing message mode in E2EE chats will also alert users when another participant takes a screenshot, according to Meta.

Messenger’s E2EE chats have been updated with support for features found on regular chats
Photo Credit: Meta

Meta has been working on enabling encrypted chats by default for years now, and the first indication of the company’s efforts was revealed years ago when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the firm was adding support for default E2EE chats for both Instagram and Messenger.

The company says that it has implemented the Signal Protocol (used on Signal, widely considered the gold standard in encrypted messaging apps) and the firm’s own Labyrinth Protocol.

However, not all users will see their conversations upgraded to E2EE chats immediately. Crisan notes that “it may take some time for Messenger chats to be updated with default end-to-end encryption”, which suggests that the rollout could take a considerable amount of time.

It is worth noting that features like optional E2EE encryption for chats on Instagram are yet to roll out to users in some regions, including India. Gadgets 360 has reached out to the company for details of the rollout to users in the country. Meta is expected to enable E2EE chats by default on Instagram once the Messenger rollout is complete.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Meta Urged Not to Roll Out End-to-end Encryption on Messenger, Instagram by UK

Britain urged Meta not to roll out end-to-end encryption on Instagram and Facebook Messenger without safety measures to protect children from sexual abuse after the Online Safety Bill was passed by parliament.

Meta, which already encrypts messages on WhatsApp, plans to implement end-to-end encryption across Messenger and Instagram direct messages, saying the technology re-enforced safety and security.

Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she supported strong encryption for online users but it could not come at the expense of children’s safety.

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

A Meta spokesperson said: “The overwhelming majority of Brits already rely on apps that use encryption to keep them safe from hackers, fraudsters and criminals.

“We don’t think people want us reading their private messages so have spent the last five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect and combat abuse while maintaining online security.”

It said it would update on Wednesday on the measures it was taking, such as restricting people over 19 from messaging teens who do not follow them and using technology to identify and take action against malicious behaviour.

“As we roll out end-to-end encryption, we expect to continue providing more reports to law enforcement than our peers due to our industry leading work on keeping people safe,” the spokesperson said. 

Social media platforms will face tougher requirements to protect children from accessing harmful content when the Online Safety Bill passed by Parliament on Tuesday becomes law.

End-to-end encryption is a bone of contention between companies and the government in the new law.

Messaging platforms led by WhatsApp oppose a provision that they say could force them to break end-to-end encryption.

The government, however, has said the bill does not ban the technology, but instead, it requires companies to take action to stop child abuse and as a last resort develop technology to scan encrypted messages.

Tech companies have said scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version