Steven Song
Following recent data scandals, online users have become concerned that their private information on the Internet is susceptible to misappropriation. These concerns motivated data privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act to ensure better protection against unauthorized access to personal data. Relatedly, Facebook has announced a plan to implement end- to-end encryption (E2EE) for all of its social media messaging systems. E2EE strictly limits access to private messages to the communicating parties. Even the company managing the messaging system cannot access these encrypted conversations. The implementation of E2EE, however, comes with its own questionable implications. For example, E2EE has the potential to increase terrorist activities because it protects not only innocent users’ privacy but also terrorists’ privacy. This Essay explores the benefits and drawbacks of E2EE and argues that social media companies’ use of E2EE is a reasonable measure to protect online consumer privacy.