France, Germany for limits on encryption

France and Germany pushed on Tuesday for Europe-wide rules requiring messaging apps such as Telegram to limit encryption to help governments monitor communications among suspected extremists.

Privacy advocates argue that encryption is essential to online security, notably for banking transactions. But encrypted apps are also increasingly used by extremists to hide their location, coordinate operations and trade weapons and sex slaves.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said French authorities have detained three people this month with “clear attack plans,” but that police need better tools to monitor messaging apps. He and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said they’re not pushing to ban encrypted services, but to work with companies that offer such apps or services to ensure they can’t be abused by violent extremists. They want EU leaders to discuss a Europe-wide policy controlling encryption at a summit in Bratislava, Slovakia, next month.

But they didn’t elaborate on how companies should limit encryption, and Cazeneuve acknowledged that his government doesn’t even have any interlocutors at some companies.

He specifically mentioned concerns about Telegram, an encrypted app used around the world. Islamic State extremists are among its many users. The two interior ministers also stressed the need for a unified European system for sharing police information.

They also said Europe’s border-free zone should require visitors to register on an electronic database ahead of time, via a system like the ESTA database for visitors to the US.