Paragraph 122 was removed from the bill on online security, but that's not all.
After a lot of protests from users and large technology companies, the UK legislation decided to remove paragraph 122 from the online security bill. This clause proposed giving regulators access to private messages protected by end-to-end encryption.
Rasha Abdul Rahim, Director of Technology at Amnesty International, said: "It is quite obvious that it is currently impossible to create a system that can scan the content of private messages without violating the right to privacy."
The main focus of the bill remains unchanged: social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram from Meta* will be required to remove all types of illegal content. This includes materials related to terrorism and incitement to violence, as well as pornography, propaganda of suicide and self-harm among adolescents. Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines of up to 18 million pounds, or 10% of the company's annual revenue, whichever is higher.
Paragraph 122, as Rasha Abdul Rahim emphasized, "puts everyone in the UK at risk, including human rights organizations and activists."
In June, Apple said that the abolition of end-to-end encryption will untie the hands of hackers and fraudsters. Encrypted messengers such as WhatsApp and Signal have also threatened to stop operating in the UK if the new rules are adopted.
Although paragraph 122 has been deleted, the official statement states that the Government's position on this issue "has not changed". Richard Collard, an expert on child Internet security, said: "Our surveys show that the UK public supports measures to combat child pornography in an end-to-end encryption environment."
The bill's ethical dilemma remains to be resolved.
After a lot of protests from users and large technology companies, the UK legislation decided to remove paragraph 122 from the online security bill. This clause proposed giving regulators access to private messages protected by end-to-end encryption.
Rasha Abdul Rahim, Director of Technology at Amnesty International, said: "It is quite obvious that it is currently impossible to create a system that can scan the content of private messages without violating the right to privacy."
The main focus of the bill remains unchanged: social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram from Meta* will be required to remove all types of illegal content. This includes materials related to terrorism and incitement to violence, as well as pornography, propaganda of suicide and self-harm among adolescents. Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines of up to 18 million pounds, or 10% of the company's annual revenue, whichever is higher.
Paragraph 122, as Rasha Abdul Rahim emphasized, "puts everyone in the UK at risk, including human rights organizations and activists."
In June, Apple said that the abolition of end-to-end encryption will untie the hands of hackers and fraudsters. Encrypted messengers such as WhatsApp and Signal have also threatened to stop operating in the UK if the new rules are adopted.
Although paragraph 122 has been deleted, the official statement states that the Government's position on this issue "has not changed". Richard Collard, an expert on child Internet security, said: "Our surveys show that the UK public supports measures to combat child pornography in an end-to-end encryption environment."
The bill's ethical dilemma remains to be resolved.
