WhatsApp boss decries attacks on encryption as Orwellian

Government attacks on WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption are akin to demands that an Orwellian telescreen be installed in every living room, the app’s head has said as it launches a major advertising campaign in defence of privacy.

Will Cathcart told the Guardian in an interview that the abstract nature of digital communications can obscure huge violations of personal freedom.

“Imagine there was a proposal from the government to put a video camera in every living room in a country hooked up to the internet, so the government can turn it on when they’re investigating a crime,” he said.

“I think people immediately recoil in horror at that proposal, because they have a built-up understanding of just how bad that would be. And yet it feels like people can make identical proposals for a digital world. And because it’s technical, sometimes the horror of what’s being proposed is lost.”

The campaign is being launched after a turbulent six months for WhatsApp, in which a user revolt forced the company to delay plans to update its terms of service. Rival messaging apps including Telegram and Signal received millions of new signups, and the company ran a publicity campaign to reassure it users that they did not need to worry about the coming changes.

Leave a Comment