SK Hynix Labeled “Investment Warning Stock” After Extraordinary 200% Share Surge 
SpaceX Edges Toward Landmark IPO as Elon Musk Confirms Plans 
SK Hynix Shares Surge on Hopes for Upcoming ADR Issuance 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
Microsoft Unveils Massive Global AI Investments, Prioritizing India’s Rapidly Growing Digital Market 
EU Court Cuts Intel Antitrust Fine to €237 Million Amid Long-Running AMD Dispute 
Australia Enforces World-First Social Media Age Limit as Global Regulation Looms 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
IBM Nears $11 Billion Deal to Acquire Confluent in Major AI and Data Push 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National AI Regulation Standard 
U.S.-EU Tensions Rise After $140 Million Fine on Elon Musk’s X Platform 
US Charges Two Men in Alleged Nvidia Chip Smuggling Scheme to China 
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Sparks Global Debate and Early Challenges 
Nvidia Develops New Location-Verification Technology for AI Chips 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
EssilorLuxottica Bets on AI-Powered Smart Glasses as Competition Intensifies 
Meta, formerly Facebook, has been pitching an update to the messaging functions of Facebook and Instagram for years that would add end-to-end encryption (E2EE). However, the social media giant has now announced its launch is not taking place anytime before 2023.
Antigone Davis, Meta’s Global Head of Safety, announced the new release timeline on Sunday Telegraph, suggesting the decision follows the “ongoing debate” on how E2EE could be implemented without impeding the law enforcement’s crackdown on online abuse.
Exactly how Meta is going to approach the E2EE implementation on Facebook and Instagram messages is still unclear. But Davis provided an overview, saying, “As we roll out end-to-end encryption we will use a combination of non-encrypted data across our apps, account information and reports from users to keep them safe in a privacy-protected way while assisting public safety efforts.” Davis added that this is the same model Meta has been using on WhatsApp, where E2EE has long been in place while the company has been able to “make vital reports to child safety authorities.”
The use of E2EE on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages was first reported in 2019. In recent years, Facebook has introduced cross-messaging app features across social networks and mobile apps it owns. E2EE would be an important feature to make the plan work since it is a foundational feature of WhatsApp, a messaging app that is currently used by more than two billion people worldwide.
Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, former acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Australia’s then-Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton (currently Minister for Defence) have co-signed an open letter in response to Facebook’s planned E2EE across apps. One of their demands was that Facebook and tech companies should “enable law enforcement to obtain lawful access to content in a readable and usable format” amid plans of introducing wider privacy and encryption features.
Meta doubled down on its plans of expanding the use of E2EE outside WhatsApp this year. The company introduced E2EE for Messenger voice and video calls, along with the confirmation that it plans on adding the same security feature to Messenger group chats and calls, along with an opt-in E2EE for Instagram DMs.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
