Published , by Morgan Shaver
Published , by Morgan Shaver
Human rights group Fight for the Future recently shared an open letter asking social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple to begin utilizing end-to-end encryption as a way to help make messages safer.
In the open letter, an example of how Facebook recently “handed over direct messages between a mom and her teenage daughter to police” resulting in them being “prosecuted under the state’s anti-abortion law” was pointed to as one reason why not having end-to-end encryption can be problematic.
While that example is undoubtedly concerning, the underlying knowledge that popular messaging options like Facebook Messenger, where millions of people regularly communicate with one another, are without end-to-end encryption is also less than ideal. One might think that end-to-end encryption would be a common thing on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but as Fight for the Future points out, most of these social platforms don’t use it by default.
If you agree and are wondering what you can do to help encourage social platforms like Twitter and Instagram to take a closer look at end-to-end encryption, Fight for the Future is encouraging people to sign the open letter.
For more on Fight for the Future’s efforts to get social media platforms to use end-to-end encryption, and to sign the petition yourself, head over to the campaign’s official website. Now that you’re caught up, we’re curious what your thoughts are. Do you agree that social platforms should offer end-to-end encryption for messages? Let us know in Chatty!
And for more on social platforms like Twitter, be sure to read through some of our previous coverage as well such as Twitter (TWTR) shareholders voting to approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout, and Facebook (META) and Qualcomm (QCOM) signing a multi-year deal to make custom VR chips.