Why WhatsApp's Encryption Embrace Is a Landmark Event

[Commentary] High security is now the norm. The news that Facebook’s WhatsApp now supports encryption across all its apps is nothing short of seismic. There have always been those who were keen on using encrypted communications — politicians trying to avoid the gaze of their rivals and foreign spies, corporate executives trying to protect their trade secrets, activists trying to organize opposition to oppressive regimes and, yes, criminals trying to evade law enforcement. But, in the big picture, these are fringe cases. Before Edward Snowden told the world about the extent of state surveillance in 2013, few “normal” people were interested in adding heavy protections to their communications. Soon, over a billion of them will be using this facility without even trying. For privacy advocates, this marks an enormous victory that few would have predicted would come so soon after Snowden’s revelations.