WhatsApp, Snapchat, iMessage may face UK ban within weeks

[midian182]

Popular instant messaging apps could soon be banned in the UK, owing to the strict laws on social media and online messaging services. The move comes as British Prime Minister David Cameron pushes ahead with new legislation that plans to stop people from sending any form of encrypted messages.

If passed, the new law could result in the UK ban of all popular messaging services that scramble communications between their users. This would include Snapchat, iMessage and WhatsApp.

Earlier this year, Cameron stated that if re-elected he would look at ways to ban encrypted communication services. “In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which we cannot read? My answer to that question is: ‘No, we must not’,” the Prime Minister said.

With the new Investigatory Powers Bill, Internet Service Providers, internet companies like Google, Facebook and Apple, will have to record the history of every UK user. Currently, British police have to make a request in order to access a user’s texts, calls and other internet usage if required, but the new legislation would make this information accessible to authorities at any given time.

Many have labeled the law as a breach of privacy. While the full extent of the powers it will grant remain unclear, there are those who worry the UK government will use the legislation to spy on its citizens, irrespective of whether they are crime suspects or not.

The recent spate of terror attacks, including the shooting of 30 Britons on a beach in Tunisia, has prompted the British Government to accelerate the Investigatory Powers Bill's progress through Parliament. It's thought the new law could arrive within in the next few weeks.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/61313-whatsapp-snapchat-imessage-may-face-uk-ban.html

 

[davislane1]

“In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which we cannot read? My answer to that question is: ‘No, we must not’,”

He couldn't have plagiarized Orwell any more blatantly if he tried. **** him and **** every rabbit who supports him.

 

[tomkaten]

All yuor chats are belong to us !

 

[Capaill]

"The recent spate of terror attacks, including the shooting of 30 Britons on a beach in Tunisia, has prompted..."
And how exactly could monitoring IM chats in Britain have prevented a terror attack in Tunisia?

 

[davislane1]

"The recent spate of terror attacks, including the shooting of 30 Britons on a beach in Tunisia, has prompted..."
And how exactly could monitoring IM chats in Britain have prevented a terror attack in Tunisia?

The more amusing parts are the underlying assumptions that:

(a) Nefarious actors will obey the law
(b) Nefarious actors will wait until after the ban to collect encrypted messaging software
(c) Nefarious actors will conduct sensitive communications inside the UK following the ban

They are after an expansion of their policing power, not terrorists.

 

[Greg S]

I'd laugh if Apple decided not to sell iPhones in the UK if this were to pass. iMessage is one of the main reasons people buy iPhones.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I'd laugh if Apple decided not to sell iPhones in the UK if this were to pass. iMessage is one of the main reasons people buy iPhones.

Maybe to the 1% of the tech savvy people it plays a part but to the rest of the iSheep?... They wouldn't know if the message was encrypted even it bit them in the keester. Apple Mystique (whatever that is) is supposed to drive their sales.

 

[Lionvibez]

Wow the UK Is F*****!

You couldn't pay me to live there with retards like that running the country.

 

[yRaz]

Try to ban encrypted messaging, I dare you. Without literally shutting off the internet there is no way to stop encrypted communications between people who really want to. Ban popular apps, blah, blah, blah.

I could write a message, encrypt it in a .rar file, email to you using a standard connection, standard email and there isn't a damn thing they can do to stop that from happening. That is just one solution in an ocean of more practical ones.

 

[Guest]

If you are suspect of murder, we will find you by your nudes!

 

[Nobina]

They aren't even trying to hide that they're spying on you. UK seems like a shithole to live in technology wise, although I live in an even bigger shithole there is still no censorship and restrictions at all.

 

[Puiu]

At least build a good internet infrastructure. UK right now has one of most shitty internet in the world and I'm not exaggerating.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Another form of Communism....

 

[Guest]

Soon they will ban talking without some sort of tech to listen in....

 

[DelJo63]

British Prime Minister David Cameron pushes ahead with new legislation that plans to stop people from sending any form of encrypted messages.

Quote without comment:

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety

Benjamin Franklin 11 Nov. 1755​

 

[Camikazi]

Isn't this the same guy who wanted that whole porn opt-in filter?

 

[Guest]

Hey there! I'm on WhatsApp...

Fancy bombing something weekend?

Stupid. Totally stupid.
But I have nothing to hide, I'm not a liberty hippy either, so I'm not arsed.

 

[Guest]

Watching europe going back to dark age. getting some popcorn now.

 

[DelJo63]

Watching europe going back to dark age. getting some popcorn now.

It's not just Europe :sigh:

 

[Rippleman]

I'd laugh if Apple decided not to sell iPhones in the UK if this were to pass. iMessage is one of the main reasons people buy iPhones.

Maybe to the 1% of the tech savvy people it plays a part but to the rest of the iSheep?... They wouldn't know if the message was encrypted even it bit them in the keester. Apple Mystique (whatever that is) is supposed to drive their sales.

you missed the point of his post and inserted your teenage apple hate into it. When he said it was one of the main reasons people buy IOS is imessage, he didn't imply it was for encryption, it was for the actual platform and what it offers vs traditional texting...

 

[cliffordcooley]

Soon they will ban talking without some sort of tech to listen in....

So much for talking to myself! I guess I will have to stop that habit before it gets me in trouble.

 

[Burty117]

Isn't this the same guy who wanted that whole porn opt-in filter?

Yep! That's actually in effect btw, if you buy a bog standard home internet connection it now automatically filters out porn and you have to contact your ISP to get it turned off -_-

This is stupid though, I honestly don't know how they're going to stop encrypted communications from happening, I know Internet is **** and slow here, maybe that's because they attempt to decrypt everything that gets sent across UK networks? Who knows...

 

[Seraphim401]

Wasn't London located in Oceania?

 

[cartera]

Is nobody else irratated by the title of this article?

The services are not getting banned in anyway, its just the government applying regulation to encrypted messaging services. The word banned is used as a scaremongering tactic and its journalism like this that ruins your own credibility.

 

[Guest]

Wow, good move Cameron. Why didn't they think of this in ww2, when the Nazis made up that Enigma machine? All they had to do was ban encryption and the bad guys would have had to stop using it.