Don’t Scan Me!
The Online Safety Bill contains a ‘spy clause’ – everyone’s private messages will be scanned. It’s state-mandated private surveillance.
A ‘spy clause’ in the Online Safety Bill introduces scanning of our private messages. Clause 110 of the bill empowers Ofcom to issue notices to providers of messaging services. These notices require them to develop and deploy software that will scan your phone for illicit material.
Message scanning is an expansion of mass surveillance. Millions of people use these services daily. Scanning phone messages breaks the promise of confidentiality and undermines our security. It unlocks the security measures built into your phone. Some providers of end-to-end encrypted messaging such as Signal and WhatsApp have said they will withdraw their service from the UK, rather than undermine security.
Who’s checking on your phone in private online spaces?
Private messaging in the Online Safety Bill and the impact on end-to-end encryption
Read our policy briefingIf the securocrats get their way, they will turn your phone into a spy in your pocket. They will scan your private messages for illicit content without judicial oversight. There is a scary parallel here with the surveillance society created in places like China. If we accept the principle of mass surveillance of our private messages, it opens the door to creeping authoritarianism.
Don’t Scan me! Stop the Spy Clause
Join our campaign to ensure the Online Safety Bill preserves encryption and free expression online.
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