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   Ofcom wants to double down on file monitoring in 2026   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 05 Dec 2025 12:42:50 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Experts are concerned about the precedent it may set for users' privacy,   
   despite Ofcom ensuring that measures should not break "end-to-end encryption."   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Having implemented one of the world's strictest age verification regimes, the   
   UK is now considering extending its obligations on cloud storage,    
   file-sharing and other apps to help make the internet a safer place for   
   children.    
      
   In its first report on the Online Safety Act's impact, Ofcom pledged to   
   "expand our focus to other service providers who present the highest risk of   
   CSAM [child sexual abuse material] to ensure stronger protections" in 2026.    
      
   Some of this work has already begun, with Ofcom confirming that many large    
   and medium-sized file-sharing platforms voluntarily implemented technology to   
   detect this type of content, while others have decided to leave the market   
   altogether.    
      
   After a four-month consultation period that ended in October, Ofcom is now   
   assessing calls from industry and civil society to expand the law's codes of   
   practice. A report is expected next year.    
      
   However, Ofcom's proposed increased monitoring has led experts to warn the   
   agency could be setting a dangerous precedent while doing "little to protect   
   children."    
      
   While it's not clear which other platforms will be affected, Ofcom told   
   TechRadar that "our measures do not recommend that providers use proactive   
   technology to analyze privately communicated content or metadata."   
      
   The encryption conondrum   
      
   The push for CSAM monitoring in the UK echoes similar efforts in the EU,    
   where the so-called Chat Control proposal has attracted strong criticism from   
   technologists, privacy experts, and politicians alike due to its potential to   
   lead to the surveillance of private communications.    
      
   Like in Europe, experts in the UK fear that encryption may become a casualty   
   in the battle to keep children safe online.    
      
   Apple has already withdrawn its iCloud's advanced encryption protection from   
   the UK market after being served with a technical notice to create a    
   backdoor. However, this order was issued under the Investigatory Powers Act,   
   not the Online Safety Act. Do you know? (Image credit: Getty Images)   
   Encryption is the tech that secure messaging apps, cloud storage, and VPN   
   services use to prevent their users' data from third-party monitoring   
   themselves included.    
      
   When we asked for clarification on its plans, an Ofcom spokesperson said the   
   agency is considering measures that automatically detect illegal content and   
   content harmful to children called ' hash matching .' However, "the proposals   
   do not recommend services break end-to-end encryption," Ofcom said.    
      
   According to Internet Society's Senior Director for Internet Trust, Robin   
   Wilton, this suggests that any scanning would have to occur before the file   
   becomes encrypted. "That would mean the service would have to have a   
   client-side component to do that scanning," Wilton said.    
      
   Client-side scanning was previously halted under the Online Safety Act until   
   it was "technically feasible to do so." Experts in Europe have been very   
   critical of this type of scanning, arguing that it will create a    
   vulnerability in the system even when it occurs before the content gets   
   encrypted, with Signal comparing client-side scanning to malware on your   
   device .    
      
   Two providers leaving the UK market, Krakenfiles and Nippydrive, offer   
   end-to-end encrypted services, which may suggest they had concerns for the   
   integrity of their systems.    
      
   As of today, the likes of Proton Drive and NordVPN's Meshnet are yet to be   
   impacted by new requirements, the companies told TechRadar.    
      
   For Wilton, though, the stakes are even higher. "If Ofcom continues with this   
   policy, UK users will no longer have access to cloud storage that technically   
   prevents third-party access to their data," he said.    
      
   In its report, Ofcom repeatedly states that 2026 will see CSAM monitoring   
   duties strengthened on more cloud storage and file-sharing apps, while   
   extending to other user-to-user services.    
      
   So there's a chance that other applications we all use regularly could soon   
   become targets of increased monitoring. We will continue to monitor the   
   situation and assess its impact on people's privacy.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/ofcom-wants-to-double-down-   
   on-file-monitoring-in-2026   
      
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