Facebook says it WON’T hand over encrypted messages of paedos and terrorists to cops
FACEBOOK has said it won't hand over the encrypted messages of terrorists and paedos despite heavy criticism from Brit politicians.
It comes after Home Secretary Priti Patel savaged Mark Zuckerberg's plans to encrypt all messages on Facebook.
Encryption shields messages and attachments from being read or opened by anyone except the intended recipients.
But it's commonly use by criminals such as terrorists and paedophiles to hide from law enforcement.
Patel US Attorney General William Barr wrote to Zuckerberg asking that he pull the plug on proposals to encrypt across Facebook's messaging services.
They warned that the measures would "put citizens and societies at risk” by “eroding a company’s ability to detect and respond to illegal content";.
Facebook, which owns both Instagram and WhatsApp, said people have a right to encrypted communications.
"We believe in the right for people to have a private conversation online," a spokesperson said.
"End-to-end encryption helps protect that right and is fundamental to the value we provide to over a billion people every day."
"We oppose government attempts to build backdoors because they would undermine the privacy and security of our users everywhere.";
In a world first, Home Secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement on Thursday that allows UK cops to avoid bureaucratic legal routes and go direct to social media firms.
The new deal with America means it will take cops just a few days to get information rather than up to two years.
Charity ads deal
FACEBOOK has been dragged into another privacy row as it emerged data on which charities users like can be used to target ads.
The Demos think-tank said the information could be used to work out what health conditions users could have.
Firms could bar users from viewing their ads because they had shown an interest in a certain charity.
Demos called for Facebook to stop giving details of the charities their users like to private advertisers.
It means Facebook will have to give up messages sent by criminals over apps like Messenger, though encrypted communications over WhatsApp remain safe from police.
Speaking Thursday, Ms Patel said the agreement will help UK cops catch crooks who rely on online messaging services to dodge the law.
Ms Patel said: “Terrorists and paedophiles continue to exploit the internet to spread messages of hate, plan attacks on our citizens and target the most vulnerable.
"This historic agreement will dramatically speed up investigations, allowing law enforcement agencies to protect the public."
The NSPCC praised the agreement as a "hugely important step forward" in tackling online child abuse, but warned social media giants will have to comply for it to have any impact.
"Facebook’s encryption plans show that when it comes to tackling child abuse, they want to go back to the digital dark ages,” said NSPCC head of child safety Tony Stower.
"It’s an absolute scandal that Facebook are actively choosing to provide offenders with a way to hide in the shadows on their platform, seamlessly able to target, groom and abuse children completely undetected."
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Facebook makes millions of reports to the cops every year, helping the find and arrest thousands of criminals.
The letter states: "Our understanding is that much of this activity, which is critical to protecting children and fighting terrorism, will no longer be possible if Facebook implements its proposals as planned."
Ms Patel added: "Companies cannot operate with impunity where lives and the safety of our children is at stake. If Mr Zuckerberg really has a credible plan to protect Facebook’s users, it’s time he let us know what it is."
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