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VICE News

The UK Wants to Break WhatsApp and Facebook Encryption Because Terrorists

Privacy advocates say the move would put everyone at risk.

The U.K. government is considering legislation that would force Facebook to reveal WhatsApp messages sent by the man who attacked the British Parliament last week, part of broader plans to force all tech companies to stop "providing secret spaces for terrorists to communicate."

The suggestion by Home Secretary Amber Rudd in an interview on the BBC Sunday drew immediate backlash from privacy advocates saying it's not only impossible to do what the government is asking but that any move to install backdoors in messaging services would put everyone at risk.

A secret place for terrorists

Rudd said it was "completely unacceptable" that police and intelligence agencies are unable to view messages sent by Khalid Masood on WhatsApp, a service he reportedly was using moments before he carried out the attack, which killed four people, including a police officer.

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