New laws in the United Kingdom could see Whatsapp banned, aimed at stopping people sending encrypted messages.
The popular cross platform messaging service, along with iMessage and Snapchat, uses encrypted data when sending messages between its users, and Prime Minister David Cameron wants to put a stop to that.
According to The Express, Cameron's stance on the encryption issue is pretty clear, when he said in a speech earlier this year "In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which we cannot read? My answer to that question is: 'No, we must not'".
The Investigatory Powers Bill, which is the new legislation in question, would mean that companies such as Facebook, Google and Whatsapp would need to keep a record of all the activity of UK residents on their devices which would then be accessible to the police and government bodies should they require it.
Cameron highlighted that the "the question we must ask ourselves is whether, as technology develops, we are content to leave a safe space – a new means of communication – for terrorists to communicate with each other", which is why the bill is being put forward.
However, there are those who are opposed to the bill, such as former Deputy prime Minister Nick Clegg, who said that there should be the right to know what terrorists are up to, but "we should not equate that with invading the privacy of every single person in the UK. They are not the same thing".
Via The Express
