GPD signs open letter calling for halt to restrictions on encryption

Global Partners Digital has signed onto an open letter urging government ministers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to stop trying to undermine encryption standards. The letter was introduced into the record at a United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on encryption and law enforcement access on Tuesday.

The open letter specifically responds to a letter from these ministers to Facebook on 4 October, which asked the company to delay the rollout of end-to-end encryption across its messaging services.

In our open letter, a diverse coalition of over 100 signatories drawn from civil society, the tech sector, and the technical community warn that restrictions on encryption, including provisions for exceptional access (commonly known as “backdoors”), would pose serious risks both to the security of critical national infrastructure and to the enjoyment of human rights.

Today, the Heads of WhatsApp and Messenger issued their own response to the request from law enforcement, supporting our arguments. 

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