Don’t Scan Me!
The Online Safety Bill’s spy clause will outsource surveillance to messaging apps.

A ‘spy clause‘ in the Online Safety Bill introduces scanning of our private messages. Clause 122 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.
The spy clause 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.

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Support our campaign to prevent client-side scanning from compromising your privacy.
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Take ActionTHE SPY CLAUSE
If 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.
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Policy Hub
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 briefing