Whatsapp Reportedly Refused to build a Backdoor for the Uk Government

WhatsApp reportedly refused to build a backdoor for the UK government

Messaging service WhatsApp rejected a UK Government request to create a way to access encrypted messages earlier this year, reports_ Sky News_, citing an anonymous security source. The British Government reportedly asked WhatsApp in a meeting during summer to produce technical solutions that would allow access.

_Sky News_reports that 80 percent of investigations into terrorism and serious crime are affected by encryption. "It is crucially important that we can access their communications — and when we can't, it can provide a black hole for investigators," the source said_. _

Extremists are known to use encryption apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate, and an inability to access those messages has been a constant source of frustration for law enforcement. Major tech companies have been strongly opposed to building backdoors though because it would undermine their services’ security, so a compromise doesn’t look likely.