A new WhatsApp feature is announced

The incident appears to put Meta in argue with the authorities once more. The government aims to boost online safety, particularly for minors. However, companies like Meta believe that alterations to the law to increase safety on the internet could compromise message privacy.

People who use WhatsApp will soon have an alternative to lock and hide conversations thanks to an updated function. Conversation Lock will transfer a conversation topic out of the app's default display inbox and into another folder that can only be viewed with an authentication code or biometric (such a fingerprint or facial recognition).

Chat Lock will safeguard "your most intimate conversations" and hide alerts from them, according to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, who called it "one more layer of security". It's the most recent of a growing number of features on the widely used, encrypted messaging app that conflict with the UK government's proposed legislation for internet safety.

Users of WhatsApp can encrypt backups, disable screenshotting, and set messages to automatically expire as part of Meta's privacy package. The new functionality was announced by Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

"WhatsApp's new locked messages make your discussions more private," he stated. They are kept confidential in a folder secured with a password and are not usable through notification systems. Like other businesses, Meta has condemned the Online Safety Bill.

End-to-end encryption, a sort of communication security that makes sure that only the individuals involved in the conversation can read the text of the message, is potentially endangered by the law change.

The business has previously stated that it would prefer to have British users cease using its services than to run the risk of violating their privacy. The bill, however, "will not require companies to break end-to-end encryption or routinely monitor private communications," a government official emphasised.

The message moved on to say, "Some have said that this is a choice between privacy and safety, but this is wrong. We favour secure encryption, but it is unable to compromise public safety, they continued.

"Tech giants have an ethical obligation for ensuring that they aren't making it harder for law enforcement to find prohibited acts on their platforms.

"As a result of our pro-innovation approach, we are confident that technology can support the implementation of end-to-end encryption in such a way that can protect children from abuse online, while respecting user privacy."

The NSPCC and other organisations claim to support the objectives of the law, and polls indicate that many British adults do as well. The Ministry of Defence, the US Marine Corps, and Ukraine's armed services, among others, utilise the UK-based messaging platform Element, which asserted that the bill was "outright dangerous" and would erode national security.

The chairman and CEO of Element, Matthew Hodgson, said: "Bad actors ignore the rules. Rogue nation states, terrorists, and criminals will strive for that access with any device at their disposal. Mr. Hodgson stated, "It's devastating to see the UK, a country that stands for democracy and freedom, follow routine mass surveillance and severely undermine encryption.

Bad actors will merely keep using the current, unregulated applications, while good actors utilising the current, compliance apps will have their privacy compromised.

The extensive legislation would grant media regulator Ofcom the authority to require that platforms detect and remove child abuse information with the goal of regulating internet content to keep people safe. Companies who refuse to comply risk paying hefty fines.