July 13, 2023
Privacy advocates are preparing to address laws that could affect children’s online safety and encrypted services in United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
In the U.K., the Online Safety Bill is under consideration, which would grant the country’s communications regulator the power to scan end-to-end encrypted messages for child sexual abuse materials.
Similarly, in the E.U., policymakers are discussing a plan that would require encrypted service providers to monitor messages, videos, and photos for signs of child sexual abuse materials, reporting any suspicious content to the police. Meanwhile, in the U.S., lawmakers are considering child-safety bills like the EARN It Act and the Stop CSAM Act, which share similar provisions.
The focus is on the impact of end-to-end encryption. The privacy advocates claim they are trying to protect encryption in legislation, while considering the concerns of law enforcement and child safety advocates. Encryption service providers argue that creating a backdoor for law enforcement is risky and opens the door to exploitation.
Child safety advocates and law enforcement also claim they want to combat online child sexual abuse, but encrypted messaging services are struggling to discuss investigative techniques without alerting criminals.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.
