The threat is very real and very immediate. How would you describe the moment we’re in? Some people say we’re entering another stage of the encryption wars. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. CyberScoop spoke with Whittaker about global threats to encryption and how AI may be fueling “magical thinking” about how governments are trying to evade encrypted technologies.

The bill would introduce client-side scanning, a technology that scans people’s private communications on their devices to match against a database of content considered objectionable.Ī prominent artificial intelligence researcher who formerly worked at Google before helping co-found the AI Now research institute, Whittaker is also a leading voice in warning about the technology’s potential harms to civil liberties. Online Safety Bill, which is expected to soon reach a final vote. Recently, Signal joined critics including Meta to call for changes to the U.K. And lately, there’s been no shortage of risks.

Tasked with overseeing a staff of a little over 40 at the small nonprofit that keeps the app running, Signal President Meredith Whittaker is the company’s voice when it comes to fighting against policies that threaten users’ privacy. As a result, it’s also become a target of lawmakers seeking to undermine the technology. With tens of millions of users around the globe, Signal is one of the leading messaging apps offering encryption to protect messages from snoops.