Signal May Exit Sweden If Government Imposes Encryption Backdoor

In a bold move that underscores the growing tension between tech companies and governments over encryption, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) instant messaging app Signal is considering leaving Sweden over a proposed law that could compromise user privacy.

The Swedish government is scheduled to propose a bill in March 2025 that would grant the country’s police force and security service the ability to request message history in retrospect for individuals suspected of crimes.

Meredith Whittaker, the CEO of Signal, one of the world’s most-used encrypted messaging apps, said her organization would pull out of Sweden if such a law passed.

Speaking to Sveriges Television (SVT), Sweden’s public television broadcaster, Whittaker said that, in practice, the law would mean “that we are being asked to break the encryption that is the basis of our entire business.”

“Asking us to store data would undermine our entire architecture and we would never do that. We would rather leave the Swedish market completely,” she added.

If adopted, the bill would enter into force in 2026.

Sweden’s Armed Forces Opposed to the Bill

When consulted, the Swedish police force and security service were both positive about the bill.

Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer said during a press conference, “The ability of law enforcement authorities to effectively access electronic communications is crucial.”

However, SVT reported that the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) oppose such a bill.

In a letter to the government, the Armed Forces said the bill could not be implemented “without introducing vulnerabilities and backdoors that could be exploited by third parties.”

Additionally, the Armed Forces published a statement earlier in February endorsing Signal.

In this statement, Brigadier General Mattias Hanson, the Swedish Armed Forces’ Chief Information Officer (CIO), decided that calls and text messages that do not concern classified information should, as far as possible, be made using the Signal app.

Growing Tensions Over Government Encryption Demands

This is not the first time Signal’s CEO has drawn a line in the sand over government demands for backdoor access.

In 2023, Whittaker issued a similar ultimatum to the UK government, warning that Signal would abandon the market if the proposed Online Safety Act mandated encryption backdoors.

The UK government ultimately backed down after Meta joined Signal in threatening to withdraw its services.

Meanwhile, the UK government has also been making moves that have raised concerns about privacy and security.

In early February 2025, it was reported that the British government had demanded to access end-to-end encrypted data stored in Apple’s iCloud service, likely under the controversial Investigatory Powers Act.

This move has been met with criticism from privacy rights groups and security experts, who are wary of the government’s efforts to undermine encryption standards.

Apple decided to remove end-to-end encryption in iCloud in the UK following the British government’s demand.

William Wright, CEO of Closed Door Security, said he finds it “concerning that authorities from two Western governments have requested backdoors into popular software in the last few weeks.”

“It highlights that neither government fully understands the implications of their requests on the wider public. While it might make things easier for them, it will have detrimental impacts on all the users of the products. Building backdoors into software is akin to deliberately building a vulnerability into its infrastructure,” he added.

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