This week Access Now joined the open letter below led by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) to urge Facebook to continue to increase end-to-end security across its messaging services, in the face of government efforts to weaken it, undermine our digital security, and hurt the human rights of countless users, including those most at risk.
For additional details on the push to harm our security and Access Now’s response, see our press release.
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7 October 2019
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,
OPEN LETTER: FACEBOOK’S END-TO-END SECURITY PLANS
The organizations below write today to encourage you, in no uncertain terms, to continue increasing the end-to-end security across Facebook’s messaging services.
We have seen requests from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australian governments asking you to suspend these plans “until [Facebook] can guarantee the added privacy does not reduce public safety.” We believe they have this entirely backwards: each day that platforms do not support strong end-to-end security is another day that this data can be breached, mishandled, or otherwise obtained by powerful entities or rogue actors to exploit it.
Given the remarkable reach of Facebook’s messaging services, ensuring default end-to-end security will provide a substantial boon to worldwide communications freedom, to public safety, and to democratic values, and we urge you to proceed with your plans to encrypt messaging through Facebook products and services. We encourage you to resist calls to create so-called “backdoors” or “exceptional access” to the content of users’ messages, which will fundamentally weaken encryption and the privacy and security of all users.
Sincerely,
- 7amleh-The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement
- Access Now
- ACM US Technology Policy Committee
- ACT | The App Association
- AfroLeadership
- Alternatives
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Americans for Prosperity
- APADOR-CH
- ARTICLE 19
- Asociación Argentina de Usuarios de Internet – Internauta Argentina
- Asociación Colombiana de Usuarios de Internet
- Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC), Argentina
- Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
- Association for Technology and Internet – ApTI Romania
- Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
- Bolo Bhi
- Bits of Freedom
- Canadian Internet Registration Authority
- Cedis/IDP – Centre for Law and Internet Studies
- Centro de Ensino e Pesquisa em Inovação (CEPI), FGV Direito SP, Brasil
- Center for Computer Security and Society, University of Michigan
- Center for Democracy & Technology
- Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression (CELE), Universidad de Palermo
- Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
- CETyS at Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina
- Coalizão Direitos na Rede
- Code for Romania
- Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
- Colnodo
- Credo Global
- Defending Rights & Dissent
- Demand Progress Education Fund
- Derechos Digitales, América Latina
- Digital Empowerment Foundation
- Digital Rights Watch
- Državljan D
- Electronic Frontier Finland
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Electronic Frontiers Australia
- Electronic Privacy Information Center
- EMPOWER Malaysia
- Engine
- epicenter.works – for digital rights
- Fanstaum Foundation
- Fight for the Future
- Foundation for Media Alternatives (Philippines)
- Free Press
- Freedom of the Press Foundation
- Fundación Datos Protegidos (Chile)
- Fundación Karisma, Colombia
- Future of Privacy Forum
- Gambia YMCA Computer Training Centre and Digital Studio
- Global Forum for Media Development
- Global Partners Digital
- GreenNet
- guifi.net
- Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights
- Hiperderecho, Peru
- Hub Women on Technology
- Human Rights Watch
- Index on Censorship
- Instituto Beta para internet e Democracia
- Instituto de Referência em Internet e Sociedade (IRIS), Brazil
- Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro (ITS)
- International Media Support (IMS)
- Internet Australia
- Internet Freedom Foundation
- Internet Society
- Internet Society – Bulgaria
- Internet Society UK England Chapter
- Internews
- InternetNZ
- ISUR, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia
- IT-Political Association of Denmark
- Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet
- Iuridicum Remedium, z.s.
- Latin-American Privacy Association
- LGBT Technology Partnership
- Media Matters for Democracy, Pakistan
- National Coalition Against Censorship
- New America’s Open Technology Institute
- Open Briefing
- Open Rights Group
- OpenMedia
- Open Net Africa
- Open MIC (Open Media & Information Companies Initiative)
- Paradigm Initiative
- Pasifika Nexus
- PEN America
- Prostasia Foundation
- Privacy International
- R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales
- Ranking Digital Rights
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Restore The Fourth, Inc.
- Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
- SHARE Foundation
- Simply Secure
- South Pacific Computer Society
- SMEX
- S.T.O.P. – The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
- TechFreedom
- The Fourth Estate
- Tor Project
- Unwanted Witness Uganda
- Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE)
- Vrijschrift
- WITNESS
- Women Of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
- Zenzeleni Networks NPC