How to deal with misinformation in end-to-end encrypted text? the answer is not traceable

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RSteps taken by governments around the world to limit the deployment of end-to-end or e2e encryption are primarily driven by three major, high-level factors – improving the ability of law enforcement to investigate, particularly Handling serious material such as child sexual abuse material, and the potential for spreading false/misinformation without adequate checks and balances. While much has been written on the first two factors, relatively little attention has been paid to mis/misinformation on e2e platforms like WhatsApp. India’s own traceability proposals – which are now legislation – were primarily driven by a desire to hold the promoters of such misinformation/propaganda accountable for their actions and have drawn significant push from industry and civil society, including several courts. Legal challenges are pending in Country.

We propose an alternative framework to the problem where the spread of misinformation/misinformation through such platforms is not a result of the deployment of e2e encryption, which in fact adds significant elements of privacy and security for millions of Indian users. On the contrary, these e2e platforms can be vulnerable to misinformation due to ineffective redressal mechanisms, unresponsive product design and gaps in digital literacy. The goal of this reframing is to demonstrate that rather than an ultimatum to enable or disable end-to-end encryption, more holistic solutions lie in collaboration between government and industry to maintain the benefits of encryption, while in that context make corrections in which it is deployed. the user.

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Let users report text easily

Even when users regularly receive messages that are clearly spam or false/disruptive from the content farm, reporting the messages and users to the e2e platform for action (including account suspension) Often quite difficult. This is despite many messages containing content that violates the Platform’s own Terms of Service and/or legal provisions. Enabling users to report messages/reports as easily as they can forward or delete appears to be a low hanging fruit that would allow for better accountability and user experience while deterring malicious actors.

To ensure complete transparency, similar to online backup features in some services, when a user reports such a message, the app must clearly state that doing so will mean that the message is no longer encrypted for platform providers. Because this (along with associated metadata) should be shared with the platform for reporting and action, including possible sharing with law enforcement agencies. This will help ensure that users are aware of the consequences of such reporting, while providing more information for the Platform to voluntarily include as part of its trust and security efforts.

responsive product design without breaking encryption

Despite the many clearly recognized concerns with viral or illegal content on e2e messaging services, especially in emerging economies, service providers have often been slow to improve their products to deal with real-world harm to users. To be empowered with tools that arise from misinformation while protecting e2e encryption. , For example, while provided by some players in the industry, many services have yet to make it easy for users to be able to identify suspicious links and frequently forward messages in a user-friendly manner within their applications. As some examples in recent years have demonstrated, it is possible to do this without breaking e2e encryption or reducing its privacy-protecting properties.

Another feature that the Services may consider making more widely available is to empower users to easily search the Internet or fact-check websites within the app. By allowing the contents of such forwarded or viral content to be verified for their authenticity, when the User chooses to do so, they may be warned of potential harm and shall be permitted to act upon or share such messages. Can make informed choices.

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DDigital literacy is a shared responsibility

The spread (often unintentional) of false/misinformation on the e2e platform is basically a digital literacy problem and there is insufficient general awareness to forward the news or verify it before sharing it widely on groups. The diverse stakeholders that make up the ecosystem such as the forum, government and media organizations have a shared responsibility to improve the status quo in India on this front. It is equally important that e2e services provide users with ample resources on the tools and skills required to verify messages received on their platform. This may take the form of publicly available resources on websites, media awareness campaigns and, when appropriate in particular use cases (such as elections), active messaging within and outside the confines of their platforms.

The various measures proposed above suggest that false binaries are often highly exaggerated between encryption and public security. Taking a more holistic approach to addressing the underlying causes of social harm or construction products that empower users to do something about the harm are both approaches that can clearly move the needle on this issue. Most importantly, they can do so while protecting the clear benefits of privacy, security, and freedom of expression that encryption offers to billions of users around the world. It is up to platforms and governments alike to recognize this and work constructively towards such solutions.

This article is part of a Chain Examine the relationship between the global and the local in partnership with Carnegie India, leading up to its Global Technology Summit 2021 (14-16 December 2021). Click Here to register.

Uddhav Tiwari is a non-resident scholar at Carnegie India. Views expressed are personal.

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