Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Louise Haigh (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 March 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 18 April 2017. It was answered by Ben Wallace (Conservative) on Tuesday, 18 April 2017 on behalf of the Home Office.

Cryptography: Social Media

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution to national security of prohibiting end-to-end encryption in digital messaging.

Answer

The Government supports the use of encryption. Encryption plays an important role in promoting cyber security, the prevention of cyber-crime, and protecting information online. Strong encryption - as practiced by many of the biggest names online - is central to the working of the internet.

But we must be clear that there is a balance to be struck. As those charged with keeping us all safe, the police and the security and intelligence agencies must have the tools they need to do their jobs. One of those tools is the ability to read, where it is both necessary and proportionate, the encrypted messages of those who plan and commit terrorist attacks and serious crimes.

We have well-established, constructive working relationships with a wide-range of groups with an interest in this area – including the major Communications Service Providers and business representatives – and we will continue to engage with them, along with other partners, to together find a solution that both permits law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies to get the information they need, whilst also protecting privacy.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
69677
Session
2016-17
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Cryptography Social media
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk