Open Letter: Facebook’s End-to-End Encryption Plans

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

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. Fanstuam 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. Netblocks
83. New America’s Open Technology Institute
84. Open Briefing
85. Open Rights Group
86. OpenMedia
87. Open Net Africa
88. Open MIC (Open Media & Information Companies Initiative)
89. Paradigm Initiative
90. Pasifika Nexus
91. PEN America
92. Prostasia Foundation
93. Privacy International
94. R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales
95. Ranking Digital Rights
96. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
97. Restore The Fourth, Inc.
98. Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
99. SHARE Foundation
100. Simply Secure
101. South Pacific Computer Society
102. SMEX
103. S.T.O.P. - The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
104. TechFreedom
105. The Fourth Estate
106. Tor Project
107. Unwanted Witness Uganda
108. Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE)
109. Vrijschrift
110. WITNESS
111. Women Of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
112. Zenzeleni Networks NPC

* In August 2020 the APC member organisation The Gambia YMCA Computer Training Centre and Digital Studio changed its name to Jokkolabs Banjul.