WhatsApp end-to-end message encryption draws political ire in U.S. and abroad

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“WhatsApp Appel Vocal Android” by downloadsource.fr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

In the world of messaging services, the cross-platform mobile messaging app WhatsApp enjoys the enviable position of being the world’s most popular messaging service, eclipsing one billion monthly active users as of this February. Owned by Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), WhatsApp’s user base even outpaces that of Facebook’s flagship messaging service Messenger, which had 800 million monthly active users. Much of WhatsApp’s popularity derives from its enhanced security features, including default end-to-end encryption of messages to prevent any unauthorized access to personal communications. Users are even provided with verification tools which reassure them that end-to-end encryption is enabled.

Of course, encryption practices for text messaging and other mobile communications have drawn the ire of law enforcement agencies across America. A terrorist attack last December in San Bernardino, CA, started a major flap between the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) over access to an iPhone used by one of the attackers. In mid-April, The Washington Post reported that the FBI was alerted to a security flaw identified by professional hackers which allowed the agency to access the phone’s data without Apple’s help. In early May, mobile tech news publication BGR reported that the Los Angeles Police Department was able to unlock an iPhone involved in a criminal investigation without Apple’s help.

In at least one recent court case, a U.S. judge’s decision reflected the idea that, while it’s important to respect privacy statutes, law enforcement officials should have access to digital evidence during an investigation. In the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a judge ordered a Los Angeles woman with ties to Armenian street gangs to provide her fingerprint for accessing data on a phone seized by police.

Over on Capitol Hill, WhatsApp’s encrypted messaging services has been drawing strong language from those perceiving the technology as a possible security threat. U.S. political coverage website The Hill reported comments from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in early April in which he urged Facebook to rethink end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp “before they help facilitate another terrorist attack.” Cotton’s remarks specifically cited a current lack of any secure method to comply with search warrants issued for an investigation as a concern.

Around the world, WhatsApp continues to gain users even as it attracts scorn from foreign governments. There are 100 million WhatsApp users in Brazil but judges in that country recently ordered the second shutdown of the messaging service in five months in the beginning of May. The 72-hour ban was reportedly ordered in connection to investigations into user data for use in a drug trafficking case; we’ve reported elsewhere on this site on how Facebook’s social media services have been used to conduct weapons sales since the company vowed to block such sales in January.

WhatsApp is also caught up in regulatory discussions regarding over-the-top (OTT) services for messaging communications systems enabled via data networks. 10 million OTT services users in South Africa had telecom providers in that country calling for governance regulations on WhatsApp, Skype and similar services as recently as this January. WhatsApp’s 256-bit encryption techniques are currently legal in India but that could change in the coming months depending on updates to that country’s encryption policies which seem likely over the next year.

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