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Ministers have admitted that they will not be immediately able to force encrypted apps like WhatsApp to scan people’s messages, in a victory to messaging services that had warned they might shut down in Britain.
Lord Parkinson, a minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, told the House of Lords that the Government would only issue notices forcing messaging apps to scan communications “where technically feasible”.
The Government insisted that it had not changed its position. However, the statement was celebrated by encrypted messaging apps, which have campaigned against the laws.
The Online Safety Bill, which is going through the final stages of Parliament, gives Ofcom powers to serve messaging apps with a notice requiring them to scan messages for child abuse imagery.
Popular encrypted messaging apps including WhatsApp and Signal have said that they would prefer to shut down in the UK than comply with a notice.
“A notice can only be issued where technically feasible and where technology has been accredited as meeting minimum standards of accuracy in detecting only child sexual abuse and exploitation content,” Lord Parkinson said.
He said there was “no intention by the Government to weaken the encryption technology used by platforms”.
Privacy campaigners have long insisted that such detection technology does not exist. Last year Apple cancelled plans to scan images on people’s iPhones after a backlash.
The Conservative MP David Davis, who has argued against the laws, said: “This is a very welcome concession from the Government. If these powers were used, it would open a backdoor into the private communications of every user.”
Meredith Whittaker, the president of Signal, said that while the legislation itself had not changed, it would influence how Ofcom applies it, calling it “very big, and very good [news]”.
A government spokesman said ministers had not changed their position. “Our position on this matter has not changed and it is wrong to suggest otherwise. Our stance on tackling child sexual abuse online remains firm, and we have always been clear that the Bill takes a measured, evidence-based approach to doing so,” the spokesman said.
“As has always been the case, as a last resort, on a case by case basis and only when stringent privacy safeguards have been met, it will enable Ofcom to direct companies to either use, or make best efforts to develop or source, technology to identify and remove illegal child sexual abuse content – which we know can be developed.”
Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said that he remained concerned about the powers.
He said: “The fact remains that scanning everyone’s messages would destroy privacy as we know it. That was as true last year as it is today.”
WhatsApp has said it would refuse to introduce technology that would scan messages before they leave people’s phones.
Mr Cathcart said earlier this year: “98pc of our users are outside the UK. They do not want us to lower the security of the product, and just as a straightforward matter, it would be an odd choice for us to choose to lower the security of the product in a way that would affect those 98pc of users.”