US, Britain and Australia seek access to encrypted Facebook messages

The request was made with an open letter to company executive chief Mark Zuckerberg and signed by US Attorney General William Barr, British Interior Secretary Priti Patel and Australian Interior Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

In a letter to Facebook and other similar companies, it is required that they allow, reportedly, law enforcement by enabling access to “messages according to a readable and used”, whenever necessary.

“We ask Facebook not to push ahead with the plan that only those who write and receive the message can read it, without including tools for legitimate access to message content with the aim of protecting citizens“, says the letter bearing October 4th.

The letter is another U.S. Department of Justice attempt to convince technology companies to weaken or eliminate coding, based on the requirements of the law enforcement agency.

Facebook defended its decision Thursday, saying that people have the right to conduct private internet conversations, adding that companies are already able to respond to government agencies when receiving valid legal requirements.

What App and Facebook are already using a system that allows only those who write and receive the message to read it, except Facebook. The company plans to extend this system to other platforms such as Messenger and InstagramDirect.