U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is out on the campaign trail and announced plans for a new data laws. Just days after the terror attacks in Paris, Cameron has argued that encrypted messaging apps in particular need to give his government access to messages or be banned in the U.K.
Cameron said that he would force apps like WhatsApp and SnapChat to provide access to the encrypted messages sent between users to the British intelligence services. If they don’t do that, they could be banned, Cameron said, reports The New York Times.
This is all part of new data laws that Cameron is promising to push for if he wins election in May. The BBC notes that he cited the Paris attacks as evidence that authorities need greater access to data, even in a “modern liberal democracy.”
“If I am prime minister, I will make sure it is a comprehensive piece of legislation that makes sure we do not allow terrorist safe spaces to communicate with each other,” Cameron said Monday. “That is the key principle. Do we allow terrorists the safe spaces to talk to each other? I say 'no we don't.’”
The Times notes that such laws wouldn’t be put in place until 2016 at the earliest. It’s also not clear how the U.K. could stop people within the country from using apps like these, since they are used worldwide.
Of course, Cameron’s statements are under heavy criticism already, considering on Sunday, he was advocating for freedom of speech at a rally in Paris over the weekend.
“The irony appears to be lost on some politicians who say in one breath that they will defend freedom of expression and then in the next advocate a huge encroachment on the freedom of all British citizens,” Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Monday night, reports The Guardian.
Cameron also isn’t the only European leader calling for companies to be more open to providing governments with data. In fact, after the Paris attacks, the EU released a joint statement on the issue.
“We are concerned at the increasingly frequent use of the Internet to fuel hatred and violence and signal our determination to ensure that the Internet is not abused to this end,” the statement reads.
image of David Cameron with Francois Hollande courtesy of INFphoto.com