Tech Companies Set To Increase Encryption Protocols

As the ongoing legal battle between Apple and the FBI keeps going on and on,  a host of other Silicon Valley operators have clearly signalled which side of the fence they’re sitting on.

Facebook, Google, Snapchat and others are seemingly working on increasing their own encryption methods in the fight for increased privacy for their users.

While, admittedly most, if not all the tech company projects were already well into development by the time this story broke, and also before the Apple vs the US Government court case hit Congress, and the headlines, the current high profile legal fight has drawn attention to encryption protocols and their use in general.

Trust

It’s also proved to be a really good platform for the tech firms to show how much they care about user encryption by advertising their new and improved services. Privacy and security have always been controversial topics in the internet age, and never more so than in recent months.

Part of the collective Silicon Valley telegraphing of their improved security features comes down to trying to win back the trust of their users. It wasn’t so long ago, after all, that it was revealed that the US government, among others, were routinely eavesdropping and collecting data from users with the apparent collaboration of most of the companies involved.

The move is also being seen as a bold move on behalf of the tech industry to telegraph their collective support for Apple for not providing backdoor entry for law enforcement agencies. Several companies had previously filed Amicus briefs to the ongoing Apple courtroom drama.

Google is reportedly working on encrypted email projects, and Snapchat are also said to be working on secure messaging components for their software as well. WhatsApp has over a billion registered users, and has been increasing its own encryption feature set since 2014.