APC has joined 26 NGOs in welcoming the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression on the use of encryption and anonymity in digital communication, which was presented to the Human Rights Council today. The report established that laws or regulations that restrict the use of encryption or anonymity online should be revised to comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and legitimacy in objective.
The Special Rapporteur warns that states should not impose blanket prohibitions on encryption and anonymity and should also “avoid all measures that weaken the security that individuals may enjoy online, such as backdoors, weak encryption standards and key escrows.”
With the statement, we urge all governments to promote the use of strong encryption technologies and to protect the right to seek, receive and impart information anonymously online. We also urge information and communications technology (ICT) companies to broadly adopt encryption and other privacy-enhancing measures to safeguard the security of users.
Read the statement.