Internet Way of Networking 5 January 2022

Internet Impact Brief: End-to-end Encryption under the UK’s Draft Online Safety Bill

Abstract

In May 2021 the UK published the draft Online Safety Bill (the “draft bill”) which seeks to set out a new regulatory framework to protect Internet users from illegal and harmful content. If implemented in its current form, this draft bill may negatively impact the Internet, pulling it away from its full potential as an open, globally connected, secure and trustworthy resource for all.

This brief uses the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit (IIAT) to assess how the limitations placed on the use of end-to-end encryption under the UK’s Online Safety Bill may affect the global Internet.

Internet Impact Brief: End-to-end Encryption under the UK’s Draft Online Safety Bill