Breton's blocking statement

Access Now joins open letter on Facebook’s end-to-end encryption plans

PUBLISHED: 8 October 2019LAST UPDATED: 26 January 2023

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,

  1. 7amleh-The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement
  2. Access Now
  3. ACM US Technology Policy Committee
  4. ACT | The App Association
  5. AfroLeadership
  6. Alternatives
  7. American Civil Liberties Union
  8. Americans for Prosperity
  9. APADOR-CH
  10. ARTICLE 19
  11. Asociación Argentina de Usuarios de Internet – Internauta Argentina
  12. Asociación Colombiana de Usuarios de Internet
  13. Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC), Argentina
  14. Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
  15. Association for Technology and Internet – ApTI Romania
  16. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
  17. Bolo Bhi
  18. Bits of Freedom
  19. Canadian Internet Registration Authority
  20. Cedis/IDP – Centre for Law and Internet Studies
  21. Centro de Ensino e Pesquisa em Inovação (CEPI), FGV Direito SP, Brasil
  22. Center for Computer Security and Society, University of Michigan
  23. Center for Democracy & Technology
  24. Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression (CELE), Universidad de Palermo
  25. Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
  26. CETyS at Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina
  27. Coalizão Direitos na Rede
  28. Code for Romania
  29. Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
  30. Colnodo
  31. Credo Global
  32. Defending Rights & Dissent
  33. Demand Progress Education Fund
  34. Derechos Digitales, América Latina
  35. Digital Empowerment Foundation
  36. Digital Rights Watch
  37. Državljan D
  38. Electronic Frontier Finland
  39. Electronic Frontier Foundation
  40. Electronic Frontiers Australia
  41. Electronic Privacy Information Center
  42. EMPOWER Malaysia
  43. Engine
  44. epicenter.works – for digital rights
  45. Fanstaum Foundation
  46. Fight for the Future
  47. Foundation for Media Alternatives (Philippines)
  48. Free Press
  49. Freedom of the Press Foundation
  50. Fundación Datos Protegidos (Chile)
  51. Fundación Karisma, Colombia
  52. Future of Privacy Forum
  53. Gambia YMCA Computer Training Centre and Digital Studio
  54. Global Forum for Media Development
  55. Global Partners Digital
  56. GreenNet
  57. guifi.net
  58. Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights
  59. Hiperderecho, Peru
  60. Hub Women on Technology
  61. Human Rights Watch
  62. Index on Censorship
  63. Instituto Beta para internet e Democracia
  64. Instituto de Referência em Internet e Sociedade (IRIS), Brazil
  65. Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro (ITS)
  66. International Media Support (IMS)
  67. Internet Australia
  68. Internet Freedom Foundation
  69. Internet Society
  70. Internet Society – Bulgaria
  71. Internet Society UK England Chapter
  72. Internews
  73. InternetNZ
  74. ISUR, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia
  75. IT-Political Association of Denmark
  76. Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet
  77. Iuridicum Remedium, z.s.
  78. Latin-American Privacy Association
  79. LGBT Technology Partnership
  80. Media Matters for Democracy, Pakistan
  81. National Coalition Against Censorship
  82. New America’s Open Technology Institute
  83. Open Briefing
  84. Open Rights Group
  85. OpenMedia
  86. Open Net Africa
  87. Open MIC (Open Media & Information Companies Initiative)
  88. Paradigm Initiative
  89. Pasifika Nexus
  90. PEN America
  91. Prostasia Foundation
  92. Privacy International
  93. R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales
  94. Ranking Digital Rights
  95. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  96. Restore The Fourth, Inc.
  97. Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
  98. SHARE Foundation
  99. Simply Secure
  100. South Pacific Computer Society
  101. SMEX
  102. S.T.O.P. – The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
  103. TechFreedom
  104. The Fourth Estate
  105. Tor Project
  106. Unwanted Witness Uganda
  107. Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE)
  108. Vrijschrift
  109. WITNESS
  110. Women Of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
  111. Zenzeleni Networks NPC