Guidance

End-to-end encryption and child safety

Information on the risks end-to-end encryption poses to children if it is implemented on social media messaging platforms without robust safety measures.

From:
Home Office
Published
20 September 2023

Documents

End-to-end encryption and child safety

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Details

This guidance explains:

  • what end-to-end encryption is
  • the risks end-to-end encryption poses to children on messaging platforms if social media companies decide to implement it without robust safety measures that ensure they can still detect and report child sexual abuse

The guidance also:

  • explains the current technological safeguards that social media companies use to prevent and report child sexual abuse on non-encrypted messaging platforms
  • provides key statistics about the scale of child abuse online in the UK
  • lists further information and support for anyone who has been affected by these issues

Updates to this page

Published 20 September 2023

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