195 Companies, Organizations, and Individuals from 42 Countries ask World Leaders to Support Strong Encryption

OpenMedia is joining a huge global coalition to defend strong encryption.

Today OpenMedia joined 195 experts, companies, and organizations in more than 42 countries in asking world leaders to support strong encryption and to reject any law, policy, or mandate that would undermine digital security. The letter is now open to public support and is hosted at https://www.SecureTheInternet.org.

In France, India, the U.K, China, the U.S., and beyond, governments are considering legislation and other proposals that would undermine strong encryption. However, safety and privacy depend on secure communications tools and technologies. This letter represents the collective voice of technologists, companies, and organizations that rely on encryption.

“The Internet belongs to the world’s people, not its governments. We refuse to let this precious resource become nationalized and broken by any nation. This letter seeks to unify the voices of global internet users by demanding the protection of tools necessary to the expression of our human rights,” said Brett Solomon, Executive Director of Access Now.

“Strong encryption is essential to our privacy, security, and freedom of expression,” said Laura Tribe, OpenMedia’s Digital Rights Specialist. “Spy agencies are exploiting the public’s fears to whip up hysteria about encryption. That’s why it’s so important for us to tell world leaders we can’t afford to undermine this vital security tool.”

The letter, organized by Access Now with the support of dozens of organizations including OpenMedia and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, allows organizations and individuals to declare their support for strong encryption. The letter will be delivered to world leaders who, according to press reports, are considering legislation and other steps that would undermine encryption.

Several countries are considering proposals that would require companies to provide exceptional access to encrypted materials. This would create a “backdoor” to allow access to any encrypted file including personal conversations, medical records, and banking documents.