As law enforcement agencies scramble to address threats of terrorism, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking—and repressive governments around the world look to broadly expand their surveillance capabilities—researchers fear that Meta's retreat from its commitments to protect user privacy with end-to-end encryption on Instagram chat could create a problematic precedent in big tech.
Meta spent t...
Meta’s retreat from default end-to-end encryption for Instagram Direct Messaging is a masterclass in cynical public relations, framed as a pragmatic response to low user adoption while simultaneously revealing a long-standing, deeply rooted resistance within the company’s DNA. The “discovery” of the feature – buried beneath layers of menus and deliberately obfuscated – wasn’t an accident; it was a calculated move to appear responsive while simultaneously eliminating a tool that threatened to dis...