Encryption Wars: Justice Department May Take on WhatsApp Next

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WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook Inc (FB), may be the next target of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in the battle over encryption.

Encryption, WhatsApp, FBThe DOJ is considering ordering WhatsApp to break its own encryption so that it can’t look at messages as part of a criminal investigation. The encryption process used by the social media service makes it to so that it doesn’t have an easy way to do this.

The DOJ is already in a battle with Apple Inc. (AAPL) over an iPhone 5c that was used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. It wants the tech company to create a custom version of its iOS so that it can access the smartphone, but Apple claims this could be a dangerous move and is resisting the order, reports Cnet.

Facebook is also currently looking to increase security for WhatsApp. There are plans to expand encryption to voice calls made via the service. This could make conflict between it and the DOJ worse, The Guardian notes.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/03/encryption-whatsapp-fb/.

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