Signal Foundation—Signal threatened to exit UK rather than comply with Online Safety Bill encryption backdoor requirements
In 2023, Signal Foundation president Meredith Whittaker publicly stated Signal would leave the UK market rather than comply with the Online Safety Bill's provisions that could require breaking end-to-end encryption. The UK government ultimately backed down from requiring backdoors.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Encryption & Privacy | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| User Privacy | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.643 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Confirms Statement Feb 24, 2023 documented
Signal president Meredith Whittaker said Signal would 'walk' from UK over encryption backdoor
BBC News reported that Signal's president Meredith Whittaker stated the organization would leave the UK market rather than undermine its encrypted messaging in response to the Online Safety Bill's provisions.