trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/nHEsRzxGIhtW5QFEy_HXMw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Report: UK police to access suspected criminals' messages on social media apps

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 50: InfoSec spending up, again…

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Blog

Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 202

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud


Report: UK police to access suspected criminals' messages on social media apps

The U.S. and the U.K. are expected to sign a new treaty in October that will see social media platforms, such as Facebook Inc. and WhatsApp Inc., share encrypted messages of suspected individuals with the British police, The Times reported, without citing sources.

Under the agreement, the social media companies will hand over information to police, security services and prosecutors to support their investigations into people who have been suspected of serious criminal offenses, including terrorism and sexual abuse.

Both countries will not target each other's citizens, while the U.S., without the U.K.'s permission, will not be able to use information gathered from British companies in any cases carrying the death penalty, according to the report.

U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel has already warned companies about the dangers and risk of empowering criminals and terrorists through end-to-end encrypted messaging.