Meta Encryption ‘Blindfolds’ Authorities To Child Abuse, Crime Agencies Claim

The FBI, Interpol and the UK’s National Crime Agency have accused Meta of making a “purposeful” decision to increase end-to-end encryption in a way that in effect “blindfolds” them to child sex abuse. From a report: The Virtual Global Taskforce, made up of 15 law enforcement agencies, issued a joint statement saying that plans by Facebook and Instagram-parent Meta to expand the use of end-to-end encryption on its platforms were “a purposeful design choice that degrades safety systems,” including with regards to protecting children. The law enforcement agencies also warned technology companies more broadly about the need to balance safeguarding children online with protecting users’ privacy. “The VGT calls for all industry partners to fully appreciate the impact of implementing system design decisions that result in blindfolding themselves to CSA [child sexual abuse] occurring on their platforms or reduces their capacity to identify CSA and keep children safe,” the statement said.