Time to talk about encryption (again)
Consumer Choice Center Europe has joined a global statement defending strong encryption, warning that efforts to fight online crime must not weaken secure communication or end-to-end encryption as the EU debates the controversial Chat Control proposal.
Our mother organisation, Consumer Choice Center Europe (CCCE), has joined other signatories of the Global Statement on the Role of Encryption in Securing Trust and Enabling the Digital Economy, initiated by the App Association.
In both Europe and other parts of the world, secure communication and encryption are currently at risk. While it’s understandable that governments are looking for ways to combat various types of online crime, this must not be done by undermining encryption.
Weakening encryption makes consumers more vulnerable, as it introduces systemic flaws that criminals, hostile actors, and, in Europe’s case, geopolitical adversaries can easily exploit.
In the European context, all eyes are now on the Chat Control proposal (we wrote about the latest version here), where the Danish Presidency and the European Commission diplomatically stress the need to protect and preserve end-to-end encryption (see picture below). In our view, however, it is also the responsibility of the European decision-makers to ensure that the proposed rules do not, in practice, push companies into undermining end-to-end encryption.
