Meta plans for more private conversations will be needed more than the company initially hoped. According to The Guardian, security chief Antigone Davis he warned that the availability of the default end-to-end encrypted messages on Facebook Messenger and Instagram will be delayed, and will come "sometime in 2023".
The company had initially planned to complete the end-to-end encryption in 2022, but needs the extra time to "get it right," Davis said.
Additional encryption is already available activated in the WhatsApp application, but Facebook Messenger and Instagram still require you to start an encrypted conversation ("Secret Chats" in Messenger). To mention, Facebook started a broader push towards encryption and other privacy features starting in 2019.
Of course, no one can say for sure why it has not been completed.
But we can say what is happening in the United Kingdom. The country is preparing a safety law to be issued in 2023 that will require major technology companies to prevent abuse and protect children.
Although she will not directly require backdoors in encryption, the current UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, does not hesitate to oppose the default encryption. He claimed that it would "seriously" limit the ability of law enforcement agencies to identify criminals.
Meta, of course, may face pressure to change its plans when the law goes into effect.
Davis, however, said Meta would have the power to detect abuse through a combination of unencrypted information and user reports.
Η delay of end-to-end encryption on Meta's services may also be a ploy by the company to buy time to explore the reactions of governments, thereby avoiding potential conflicts.
