Facebook encryption poses “catastrophic risk” to kids, secret Home Office advice warns

FACEBOOK bosses person chosen to “blind themselves” to the kid intersexual maltreatment happening connected the tract by encrypting messaging services, concealed Home Office counsel warns.

The determination poses a “catastrophic risk" to kids and could mean implicit 30 cardinal instances of maltreatment astir the satellite spell unnoticed by cops each year.

The bombshell informing was fixed to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in November past twelvemonth up of an online gathering she held with bosses of Meta, which owns Facebook.

Nick Clegg - the erstwhile Lib Dem person and elder Facebook brag who discontinue the steadfast earlier this twelvemonth - was among those astatine the meeting.

The proposal - handed implicit successful a factsheet - states: “The adoption of end-to-end encryption by Meta is an exemplar of the catastrophic risks posed by high-risk plan choices, fixed the institution has efficaciously opted to unsighted itself to the abhorrent maltreatment occurring connected its platforms.”

Meta started rolling retired extremity to extremity encryption astir a twelvemonth ago.

The stark informing comes aft the National Crime Agency raised the alarm that the determination would marque it acold harder for them to support kids online.

In the advice, officials besides suggested the government's Online Safety Act lacks the teeth to rapidly ace down connected tech giants failing to support kids online.

It states: “Despite the important risks posed by Meta’s actions HMG [His Majesty’s Government] presently has yet to harness the constricted levers astatine HMG disposal to compel the institution to act. 

“Whilst the Online Safety Act notionally provides Ofcom with powers to compel companies to make detection technologies, the powers are lone exercisable astatine the extremity of a lengthy regulatory process and would instrumentality a fewer years to deploy.”

They said Meta was an manufacture person successful the usage of “proactive” exertion to find and study online grooming and kid intersexual exploitation.

Tech companies reported 36 cardinal instances of kid intersexual maltreatment worldwide  successful 2023 unsocial - with 31m of them connected Meta platforms.

But encryption wholly undermines the  quality to find this appalling content, officials warned.

Last week Peter Kyle, the Cabinet curate for Science and Technology, has said online information authorities is “unsatisfactory” and "uneven” and much authorities whitethorn beryllium needed.

A Meta spokesman: “End-to-end encryption is 1 of the astir important technologies to support everyone harmless online, including young people.

“No 1 wants america speechmaking their backstage messages, truthful we’ve developed robust information measures to forestall and combat maltreatment portion maintaining online security.” 

A authorities spokesperson said: “All societal media companies, including Meta, person a work to use the indispensable safeguards to the usage of end-to-end encryption, truthful that they are capable to observe kid abuse. 

“The usage of a peculiar exertion oregon level plan should ne'er preclude the effectual extortion of children.

“This authorities is committed to utilizing each disposable levers, including the Online Safety Act, to guarantee children are protected online, and we volition not hesitate to spell further if necessary.”