WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose UK's move on encryption

FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with a displayed WhatsApp logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

LONDON (Reuters) - WhatsApp and other messaging services have united to oppose Britain's plan to force tech companies to break end-to-end encryption in private messages in its proposed internet safety legislation.

Meta-owned WhatsApp, Signal and five other apps signed an open letter saying the law could give an "unelected official the power to weaken the privacy of billions of people around the world".