This picture taken on January 12, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France shows a smartphone and a computer screen displaying the logos of the social network Facebook and its parent company Meta.
The Facebook encryption plan of Meta is still spreading fears among sex abuse survivors, especially since this enhancement's rollout is about to happen.
Many victims of online sexual harassment are now sharing their concerns. Now, the question is, will the tech giant firm really make E2EE (end-to-end encryption) a default feature on Facebook and Instagram?
Facebook Encryption Brings Fear to Sex Abuse Survivors
Rhiannon-Faye McDonald, a child sex-abuse survivor living in North Yorkshire in Northern England, shared her concerns regarding the upcoming plan of Meta to make end-to-end encryption a default feature on its social media platforms.
Ms. McDonald, who was sexually harassed at the age of 13, explained that Meta's encryption plan for Facebook and Instagram will make it hard to detect online child abuse activities.
For those who are unfamiliar with this feature, E2EE is a privacy technology that prevents social media companies and other unauthorized parties from accessing the messages of senders and receivers.
Although it leads to more online privacy, some bad actors, especially sex abusers, can take advantage of it since their messages can't be easily seen by authorities.
This is why McDonald and other sex harassment survivors are against Meta's E2EE plan. She shared her traumatizing experience to let other people know why making end-to-end encryption a default feature is concerning.
She said that when she was a child, her online abuser contacted her before harassing her in person. McDonald added that some of her sexual abuse images could still be circulating online.
"It's devastating to me to know that my images could circulate on those platforms without being detected and removed. I think many survivors in my position would feel the same," she explained via BBC News.
Will Meta's Default E2EE Plan Really Happen?
A woman poses in front of a computer displaying the Facebook logo in Mill Valley, California on March 21, 2018. - A public apology by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg failed on March 22, 2018, to quell outrage over the hijacking of personal data from millions of people, as critics demanded the social media giant go much further to protect privacy.
As of writing, WhatsApp (owned by Meta), Signal, and other online messaging platforms already offer end-to-end encryption features.
Messenger also has this enhancement. However, the E2EE features of Facebook and Instagram are not activated by default.
Because of this, many users are not utilizing this feature. Previously, Meta announced that it would make the end-to-end encryption a default feature in Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
The tech giant firm said that this effort will make the E2EE feature a new standard for all users on IG and FB. Meta is expected to release default E2EE enhancement before 2023 ends, as reported by PCWorld.
However, there's a chance this can be delayed, especially since many advocates, government officials, experts, and users heavily criticize this effort.
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