MP Paul Waugh accuses Meta of turning Facebook Messenger into ‘Epstein’s paedophile island’
An MP has accused Meta of turning Facebook Messenger into “Jeffrey Epstein’s private island” by enabling end-to-end encryption.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee grilled tech giants X, TikTok, Google and Meta today as part of an inquiry into online misinformation and harmful algorithms.
“Twenty years ago, someone like Gary Glitter had to go to the other side of the world to prey on children,” said Labour MP Paul Waugh to Chris Yiu, one of Meta’s directors of public policy.
“Someone like Jeffrey Epstein had to create his own private paedophile island.
“Now, these monsters, all they have to do is go on to set up a group on Facebook Messenger.”
Mr Waugh was referring to Facebook Messenger’s recent implementation of end-to-end encryption, meaning that no one, not even Facebook, can see the contents of encrypted messages.
Law enforcement agencies also cannot see the messages, which is a constant source of tension between tech companies and governments.
Just last week, Apple removed one of its highest-security tools for users over an alleged request by the Home Office to be able to see its encrypted user data.
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“Isn’t it true that you’ve turned Facebook Messenger into Epstein’s own paedophile island and a place where you can do what you want without getting caught?” asked Mr Waugh.
Mr Yiu denied this was the case and said the issue of online child sexual abuse material needed a “whole of society response” where tech companies and law enforcement agencies worked cooperatively.
He also argued end-to-end encryption is a “fundamental technology designed to keep people safe and protect their privacy”.
The select committee’s inquiry is investigating the spread of harmful content online, sparked by last August’s riots.
The widespread unrest took hold across the country after three young girls were stabbed to death in Southport.
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In the days that followed, illegal content and disinformation spread “widely and quickly” online, according to the communications regulator Ofcom.
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The committee chair Chi Onwurah said Elon Musk, owner of X, was invited to the evidence session but the billionaire did not reply formally.
MP Emily Darlington also quizzed the Meta representative about the company’s recent changes to its content guidelines.
She read out numerous examples of Meta users posting racist, antisemitic and transphobic comments online and asked Mr Yiu how Meta justified allowing those posts to stay online.
“We have received feedback that […] some areas of debates were being suppressed too much on our platform and that some conversations, whilst challenging, should have a space to be discussed,” he said.
X’s representative also faced questions from the MPs, with Ms Darlington asking why verified X users were able to post comments calling politicians rapists and threatening to “rise up and shoot” public figures.
Wifredo Fernandez, X’s senior director for Government Affairs, said he would ask the X team to review the posts.
Foreign state investors would be allowed to hold stakes of up to 15% in British national newspapers, ministers are set to announce amid a two-year battle to resolve an impasse over The Daily Telegraph’s ownership.
Sky News has learnt that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could announce as soon as Thursday that the new limit is to be imposed following a consultation lasting several months.
The decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry.
It would mean that RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi state-backed fund which owns an option to take full ownership of the Telegraph titles, would be able to play a role in the newspapers’ future.
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RedBird Capital, the US-based fund, has already said it is exploring the possibility of taking full control of the Telegraph, while IMI would have – if the status quo had been maintained – forced to relinquish any involvement in the right-leaning broadsheets.
One industry source said they had been told to expect a statement from Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, or another DCMS minister, this week, with the amendment potentially being made in the form of a statutory instrument.
Other than RedBird, a number of suitors for the Telegraph have expressed interest but struggled to raise the funding for a deal.
The most notable of these has been Dovid Efune, owner of The New York Sun, who has been trying for months to raise the £550m sought by RedBird IMI to recoup its outlay.
Another potential offer from Todd Boehly, the Chelsea Football Club co-owner, and media tycoon David Montgomery, has yet to materialise.
RedBird IMI paid £600m in 2023 to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.
That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws – which banned any form of foreign state ownership – amid an outcry from parliamentarians.
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The Spectator was then sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor.
The UAE-based IMI, which is controlled by the UAE’s deputy prime minister and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, extended a further £600m to the Barclays to pay off a loan owed to Lloyds Banking Group, with the balance secured against other family-controlled assets.
Other bidders for the Telegraph had included Lord Saatchi, the former advertising mogul, who offered £350m, while Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, pulled out of the bidding last summer amid concerns that he would be blocked on competition grounds.
The Telegraph’s ownership had been left in limbo by a decision taken by Lloyds Banking Group, the principal lender to the Barclay family, to force some of the newspapers’ related corporate entities into a form of insolvency proceedings.
The newspaper auction is being run by Raine Group and Robey Warshaw.
The DCMS declined to comment.
Burberry, the UK’s only global luxury brand, is to cut around 1,700 jobs worldwide over the next two years after reporting a steep financial loss.
The company lost £66m in pre-tax profit in the year ended in March as luxury goods sales fell across the world and the company weathered an “uncertain” environment and a “difficult macroeconomic backdrop”.
A year earlier, it recorded £383m in profit.
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It’s suffered in recent years with the share price falling to such an extent the business was removed from the FTSE 100, the index of most valuable companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Despite the financial performance, the company was upbeat, with chief executive Joshua Schulman saying “I am more optimistic than ever that Burberry’s best days are ahead and that we will deliver sustainable profitable growth over time”.
What cuts are being made?
The retailer did not specify any shop closures – in the past year, it closed 26 and also opened 26 stores – but did highlight shift cuts and consolidations.
“We don’t have a store closing programme, per see,” Mr Schulman told investors
The night shift at Burberry’s Castleford factory will be cut, it proposed, saying the shift has resulted in overproduction.
“Significant” investment in the facility will be made, however, as the ambition is to scale up British production “over time”, Mr Schulman said.
Changes to the retail network across the world will be made with shop staff being scheduled around “peak traffic”.
Burberry will be “realigning” shop staff, he said, “so that we can offer the best service” at the busiest times.
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There will also be a “simplification” of Burberry’s regional structure and a “rebalancing” of central and regional responsibilities to reduce duplication and “accelerate decision making” through the retail network.
But the majority of changes will be made to “office space teams” around the world, the CEO said.
Commercial and creative teams have already been consolidated, Burberry’s annual results said.
What’s gone wrong?
Aside from the global slowdown in luxury goods sales over recession fears, additional headwinds have come in the form of President Trump’s tariffs.
“Clearly, the external environment has become more challenging since mid-February”, Mr Schulman told investors.
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Tariff risks were higher than first planned, the annual results said.
It led the US market to be described by Mr Schulman as “choppy” since February when Mr Trump began announcing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, as well as on goods such as steel and cars.
Sales also fell in the Asia Pacific region by 16%, the results showed.
Criticism was levelled at the 2021 British government decision to withdraw VAT refunds for overseas visitors, “which has made the UK the least competitive destination in Europe for tourist shopping”, the results read.
“Business in our UK home market continues to be seriously impacted” by the move.
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