Petition Recognise the importance of citizens' access to encryption

The government must recognise the personal and economic benefits to encryption, and that any backdoor into WhatsApp cannot remain exclusive to GCHQ, but would soon become known to foreign intelligence services or criminal groups.

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Home Secretary and Europol are demanding companies such as WhatsApp to install backdoors so that security services may read suspected terrorists' messages. (Times, 27.03.17) The UK government may have 'noble' aims, but any backdoor would soon be found by the Russian or Chinese intelligence services. This would make the UK vulnerable to economic espionage, and have a chilling impact on dissidents in those countries. It could also be exploited by groups such as Anonymous, which may use intercepted messages to harass vulnerable groups such as LGBT+ people. T

This petition closed early because of a General Election Find out more on the Petitions Committee website

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10,000

Date closed 3 May 2017
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