The United Kingdom government is close to passing a bill against platforms that use encrypted messages online, and that could ultimately mean that the most popular e-messaging app right now, WhatsApp UK, could end up being banned alongside others like Snapchat and Apple's service of instant messaging, iMessage.
The very controversial bill currently threatening WhatsApp UK has been called the "snooper's charter," though its official name is the Draft Communications Data Bill, and it's sponsored mainly by home secretary Theresa May, who hopes to type messages from apps like these - and there's a fair chance that the bill will go through, with the country's Parliament currently having a Conservative majority.
According to First Post, the reason the WhatsApp UK ban is being pursued comes from terrorist attacks in the past few years in a desire to make communications more easily accessible - and the move was accelerated after a recent tragedy in Tunisia where 27 British citizens were shot.
Standard reports that the new WhatsApp UK ban would not affect a series of instant messaging services, but the bill also requires for Internet providers, phone companies and even major tech companies (such as Apple, Facebook and Google) to record their users' activities, sending them to government security agencies such as the MI5.
The bill has been highly controversial over allowing government officials to peruse the entirety of the messaging history of citizens.
"In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which we cannot read?" Prime Minister Cameron famously asked earlier this year, during the first talks of the WhatsApp UK legislation. "My answer to that question is: 'No, we must not'."
According to Express, the move to possibly ban WhatsApp comes only a few weeks after the app was named the worst app for users privacy-wise, as it's seemingly incredibly easy to crack down its security.
The WhatsApp UK ban has been deemed "an abuse of procedure" by Open Rights Group, according to The Mirror.
