\u201cBritish Prime Minister David Cameron to ban encrypted messengers\u201d \u2014 headlines like this one are all over the news at the moment, and with good reason.<\/p>\n
Opinions vary from\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s protect Great Britain from tragedies like a terror act in Paris\u201d to \u201cAaaaargh, the end is nigh, all encryption will be banned!\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/robaeprice\/status\/554700037520109568<\/p>\n
Curiously, none of them are\u00a0true. So, what EXACTLY has happened? Nothing at all: Cameron was\u00a0asked a simple question<\/a> when addressing one of his keynotes: \u201cDo we want to allow a means of communication between people which, even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the home secretary personally, we cannot read?\u201d. He himself has answered it: \u201cno\u201d, he said, we don\u2019t, and should the Conservatives win the next election, he will push through measure to ensure that they\u2019re able to read messages.<\/p>\n The media, have, of course, twisted this quote and tampered with it again and again in their headlines. Firstly, Cameron never mentioned encryption yet the media took it going on what he implied. It\u2019s useful here to be cautious of reading between the lines too much. \u00a0Secondly, there is one nasty little law<\/a> in Britain which already does deal with encryption.<\/p>\n David Cameron seeks cooperation of US president over encryption crackdown http:\/\/t.co\/00G1F0IdSg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Guardian (@guardian) January 15, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n