A European Parliament committee is proposing that end-to-end encryption be enforced on all forms of digital communications to protect citizens.
The draft legislation seeks to protect sensitive personal data from hacking and government surveillance.
EU citizens are entitled to personal privacy and this extends to online communications, the proposal argues.
A ban on “backdoors” into encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram is also being considered.
Encryption involves digitally scrambling a communication to protect its contents, and then using a digital key to reassemble the data.
End-to-end encryption means the company providing the service does not have access to the key, meaning it cannot “listen in” to what is being shared – giving the sender and recipient added confidence in the privacy of their conversation.
“The principle of confidentiality should apply to current and future means of communication, including calls, internet access, instant messaging applications, email, internet phone calls and personal messaging provided through social media,” said a draft proposal drawn up for the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs.
The proposal seeks to amend Article Seven of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights to add online privacy. It will require approval by committee’s members, the wider European Parliament and the Council of Ministers before it can be passed into law.