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Updated November 22nd, 2021 at 12:41 IST

Meta delays end-to-end encrypted messaging on Facebook messenger, Instagram: Report

Meta had announced its plans to have end-to-end encryption messages on Facebook Messenger and Instagram, however, the company has now delayed its plan.

Reported by: Apoorva Kaul
End-to-End
Image: AP/Unsplash | Image:self
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Meta, formerly known as Facebook, had announced its plans to have end-to-end encryption messages on Messenger and Instagram. However, the company has now delayed plans to encrypt users' messages until 2023 after warnings from child safety campaigners, reported The Guardian. The child safety campaigners have suggested that the plan of the company would protect the abusers from detection. The company had announced that the encryption process would take place in 2022, however, the head of safety at Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has now announced that the encryption process would happen in 2023.

Antigone Davis, the director, Global Head of Safety, in the Sunday Telegraph, wrote that the company has decided to take some more time before starting end-to-end encryption on all messaging applications until 2023, as per the British news website report. Furthermore, Davis mentioned that the company that connects billions of people globally is committed to protecting the privacy of the people’s “private communications” and keeping the people “safe online” As per the British news website report, Davis has mentioned that Meta would be able to use non-encrypted data, account information and reports from users under its encryption plans to detect abuse on its platforms, a system that has been already in place for Whatsapp.

Meta delays plan of end-to-end encryption 

Meta has already enabled end-to-end encryption on its Whatsapp messaging application and the company had planned to start the same approach on messenger and Instagram. However, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has raised concerns regarding the company's plans. The NSPCC has described private messaging as being the “frontline” for online sexual abuse of children, as per the British news website report. The NSPCC has suggested that the law enforcement and tech platforms are unable to see the messages as they will only be visible to sender and receiver under the end-to-end encryption.

After Antigone Davis announced the plan to delay end-to-end encryption on Messenger and Instagram, Andy Burrows, the NSPCC’s head of child safety online policy has welcomed the decision. Speaking about the decision announced by Meta, Burrows said that the company has taken the right decision in not going ahead with its end-to-end encryption until they have a proper plan to detect child abuse on all its platforms, as per the report. He further added that the company should put the plan in place after they have technology that would see that the child abuse does not go undetected on its platforms. 

(Image: AP/Unsplash)

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Published November 22nd, 2021 at 12:41 IST

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