Facebook's plan to introduce end-to-encryption for all its messaging services faces a growing backlash. /AFP/Olivier Douliery
On the day that Facebook announced an overhaul of its privacy regulations, the UK government and the country's leading child protection agency demanded an end to the technology conglomerate's plans to roll out end-to-end encryption across its messaging services.
The $280 billion USD company said its plans "created a cultural shift to make privacy a core responsibility of everyone at Facebook" that "respect and honor people's privacy in everything that we do."
Facebook believes its plans for wider encryption – in which only the sender and recipient can read messages - will protect users' privacy, but they face a growing backlash.
In response, UK Interior Minister Priti Patel told an event hosted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) that end-to-end encryption could jeopardize the fight against child abuse.
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"We cannot allow a situation where law enforcement's ability to tackle abhorrent criminal acts and protect victims is severely hampered," Patel told the audience.
She added: "At a time when we need to be taking more action, Facebook is still pursuing end-to-end encryption plans that place the good work and the progress that has already been made at jeopardy."
Patel said images of children being sexually abused continue to proliferate online and that the company's end-to-end encryption service would prevent access to messaging content by authorities.
"This is simply not acceptable," she added.
UK Interior Minister Priti Patel called Facebook's plans "unacceptable." /AP/Matt Dunham
Encryption means that messages are scrambled to become unreadable, with physical access to an unlocked device the only way for law enforcers to access them. At present Facebook's messaging platform WhatsApp already uses end-to-end encryption, but the company wants to replicate this on Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
Without encryption technology, Facebook and other tech firms can use automatic scanning of users' posts to identify the sharing of known child abuse images and detect suspicious use of private messaging.
The NSPCC says that encryption will "render these tools useless," while the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimate that 70 percent of future child abuse reports around the world could be lost.
Facebook insists that end-to-end encryption will help keep users safe from hackers and criminals.
The company issued a statement reacting to Patel's heavily-trailed comments ahead of her speech.
It read: "Child exploitation has no place on our platforms and Facebook will continue to lead the industry in developing new ways to prevent, detect and respond to abuse. Its full rollout on our messaging services is a long-term project and we are building strong safety measures into our plans."