European Court backs strong encryption by Telegram, calls it privacy rights

Telegram is not backing down on ensuring its users enjoy unlimited privacy rights and its decision by a European Court may be in their favor, for a while. 

Many US officials have vehemently opposed strong encryption for several years and it has protested that it could be an enabler for child abuse and a shield for other fraudulent activities. While this may be an issue in the US, a key European court has upheld encryption as a privacy right and it should be considered a basic right for users. 

The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights has no effect in the United States but its decision stands in 46 European states. Nonetheless, the decision may ease pressure on US social media encryption crusader, Telegram. 

With all of these happening, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has cited encryption as one of law enforcement’s main challenges, during an open statement to the audience at Texas A&M University last year that “terrorists, hackers, and child predators are shielding themselves with end-to-end encryption.”

Technology companies had expressed worry that the Online Safety Act, which passed in the United Kingdom’s Parliament in September, could be used to force them to drop strong encryption or hack their customers. Yet a proposed bill amending the Investigatory Powers Act, now in the House of Commons, would require tech companies to inform UK authorities whenever they are upgrading the security of a service, equipping the government to order the companies to hold off such changes. 

Industry and rights groups say that could include shifts to end-to-end encryption, which promise that only the two parties in a conversation can access the content. Over the objection of the FBI and law enforcement in other countries, Meta is rolling out such strong encryption for its Messenger service. Signal and WhatsApp already have it, and most security experts support it. It remains to be seen what impact the human rights ruling will have on that approach, but it may push the burden back to law enforcement to explain why the many won’t be penalized in pursuit of a few.

Industry and rights groups say that could include shifts to end-to-end encryption, which promise that only the two parties in a conversation can access the content. Over the objection of the FBI and law enforcement in other countries, Meta is rolling out such strong encryption for its Messenger service. Signal and WhatsApp already have it, and most security experts support it.