Encrypted Message Platforms Threaten to Pull Services From UK Over Online Safety Bill

Providers including WhatsApp said the bill will lead to mass surveillance of British citizens

A 3D printed Whatsapp logo and keyboard buttons on a computer motherboard in an illustration taken on Jan. 21, 2021. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

Seven of the world’s leading messaging apps have written a scathing open letter to the UK government over its proposed Online Safety Bill.

Bosses from firms including Signal and WhatsApp say the bill would lead to the mass surveillance of personal communications in what would become the “British internet.”