WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms will be forced to disclose encrypted messages from suspected terrorists, paedophiles and other serious criminals under a new treaty between the UK and the US. Priti Patel, home secretary, will sign an agreement next month that compels US social media companies to hand over information to the police, security services and prosecutors. The data access agreement, which marks the culmination of four years of intense lobbying by the UK, is seen by Downing Street as an essential tool in the fight against terrorism and sexual abuse. Ms Patel has previously warned social media companies that they risk empowering terrorists and urged them to take greater responsibility for criminal activity on their platforms. At present the security services are
A deal between the US and UK has ensured social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook, will have to disclose encrypted messages from people suspected of terrorist, paedophile and other crimes. Currently, data can be obtained through emergency disclosure access or a mutual legal assistance treaty but the latter method is complex and time consuming. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel had already warned social media companies to take greater responsibility for their content. The new agreement also requires tech firms to store user information in “secure locations”, which could include cloud storage services such as Dropbox that are owned by Facebook.