In December 2025, the UK’s legal landscape shifted under our feet. For years, we’ve heard politicians grumble about encryption being a "hiding place for criminals." But the latest report from the UK’s top terror and state-threats watchdog, Jonathan Hall KC, takes the rhetoric to a terrifying new level. He warns that under the National Security Act 2023, the mere act of developing or providing end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) apps like Signal or WhatsApp could technically be categorized as "hostile activity."
Let’s cut through the legalese. This isn't just a "tech vs. government" debate anymore; this is an existential threat to the tools that keep our private lives private.
1. The Vibe: Legally Defining "Hostility" 🚩
The National Security Act was built to catch spies and saboteurs. But the law is written so broadly that it includes any activity that "assists a foreign intelligence service" or is "prejudiced to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom."
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The Logic: Because Signal and WhatsApp make it "more difficult" for UK agencies to monitor communications, Hall argues that providing these apps could be seen as serving the interests of a foreign state—even if the developers have zero contact with that state.
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The "Invisible" Threat: You don't have to be a spy to be a "hostile actor." In the eyes of the law, simply creating a system that the government can't break into is enough to land you in the "prejudicial" category.
2. The Struggle: The War on Math 🎤
Encryption isn't a "policy choice"—it’s mathematics. You either have a secure door, or you have a door with a key under the mat. The UK government wants the key, but as every security expert knows, once a "backdoor" exists for the good guys, the bad guys will find it too.
The "Hostile" Fallout:
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Journalists: The report notes that journalists carrying "confidential information" that could embarrass the Prime Minister could also face scrutiny under these powers.
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Whistleblowers: If using Signal is "hostile," then protecting a source becomes a criminal act of state interference.
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Tech Giants: Apple already fought back in early 2025 against "Technical Capability Notices" that tried to force backdoors into iCloud. This new report suggests the government is doubling down.
📊 The Encryption Battlefield: 2024–2025
| Stakeholder | The Argument | The Real-World Impact |
| UK Watchdog (Hall KC) | E2EE apps "benefit foreign states" by blocking UK surveillance. | Developers could be labeled "hostile actors" under the NSA 2023. |
| Big Tech (Apple/Signal) | Privacy is a human right; backdoors weaken security for everyone. | Threat of withdrawing services from the UK market entirely. |
| Human Rights Orgs | Encryption protects dissidents, survivors, and journalists. | Chilling effect on free speech and investigative journalism. |
| The Public | "I just want my chats to be private." | Increased risk of data breaches if encryption is "weakened" by law. |
3. The Break: Intellectual Analysis—Control vs. Security 🌍
Let’s be real: calling a privacy tool "hostile" is a category error. A "hostile act" implies intent to harm. Developing a tool that uses the laws of mathematics to protect user data is a security act. By reframing privacy as hostility, the state is essentially claiming that transparency to the government is the only path to being a "good citizen."
This is "digital sovereignty" gone wrong. If the UK treats encryption as a threat, it doesn't just stop criminals—it makes the UK a less secure place for business, a more dangerous place for journalists, and an outlier among democratic nations. As Jemimah Steinfeld (CEO of Index on Censorship) put it: "Breaking encryption is a threat to our national security, not a protection of it."
Real Talk: Why This Matters for You
We are the first generation to live our entire lives in the "digital panopticon." If the tools we use to speak freely are labeled "hostile," then privacy itself becomes a form of dissent.
The Takeaway:
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Watch the Precedent: If the UK successfully labels Signal "hostile," other nations will follow. This is a global domino effect.
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Support Open Source: Tools that aren't owned by giant corporations are harder for governments to bully.
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Encourage Literacy: We need to stop letting politicians treat "encryption" like a dirty word. It’s the digital equivalent of a sealed envelope.
🔗 Reliable & Reputable Sources
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Official Hall KC Report (Dec 2025): Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation
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The Guardian Analysis: UK Terror Watchdog warns of Online Threats
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TechRadar Report: Creating apps like Signal could be 'hostile activity'
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Index on Censorship: Joint Letter on End-to-End Encryption
Is privacy a "hostile act," or is the real threat a government that's afraid of its own citizens' secrets?
