Would you like someone to have access to talks you – even in those protected by end-to-end encryption?
The demand for end-to-end encrypted communication to be accessible by law enforcement is strong worldwide, not just in the US and United Kingdom but also the European Union, among others.
However, the implementation of such laws in Europe will become much more difficult than it has been so far. Such as reports The Register, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that legislation requiring the weakening of end-to-end encryption – essentially creating a government access backdoor – violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
In short, it is theme proportionality. Law enforcement authorities want this access to easily investigate cases of terrorism, human trafficking or child pornography. However, achieving such access to encrypted communication requires weakening the encryption technology itself, for each user.
Furthermore, implementing such a policy (backdoor access) leaves a door open for any hacker who will surely try to penetrate once such a weak point exists.
The ECHR decision is the result of the Podchasov v. Russia case of 2019. The Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) requested access to an end-to-end encrypted communication of the application Telegram used by citizen Anton Valeryevich Podchasov.
Telegram refused to comply, arguing that it was technically impossible to do without creating a backdoor that would weaken the encryption mechanism for all users.
Ironically, the Russians are not bothered by the decision. The decisions of the ECHR are binding on the members of the Council of Europe that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the Russian Federation was excluded from the Council in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine in February of the same year.
However, the decision will be important for the rest of the European states. The ECHR is not an EU institution, although member states are signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. So, in theory, they should act on the decision when they vote on new policies in the European Parliament and at other EU levels.
