[STUDENT POLICY BRIEF] Is encryption a fundamental right? 

By Stavroula Chousou, Julia Magaud, Ludovica Pavoni & Morgan Williams

The Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair publishes, on a regular basis, the finest essays and papers written by Sciences Po students in the course of their studies.

This Policy Brief has been selected as one of the best works written during the course taught by Pr Florence G’sell “Comparative Approach to Big Tech Regulation” in Spring 2023.

Two current policy debates collide into a complex and evolving European legal landscape: Is it possible to protect children and prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) when end-to-end encryption (E2EE) technology makes messages inaccessible to law enforcement? As CSAM continues to proliferate online messaging platforms, political debates and long legal proceedings are looking to create criminal proceedings backdoors and obligations for telecommunications and online media firms to scan their services for CSAM evidence. Some argue that encryption in the era of digitization is not up for debate, rather it approaches a state of fundamentality. Encryption protects privacy and security online, both of which are recognized as undisputed fundamental rights. But is encryption itself a fundamental right? What happens when a fundamental right enables crimes against the most vulnerable in our society? Is there a way to protect children from CSAM while simultaneously protecting the right to private communications online for all? By examining the role of encryption and the current regulatory framework in the EU, with an emphasis on the developing proposal to prevent and combat child abuse by screening private messages, we establish the fundamentality of encryption in the private lives of all internet users, including children.

Stavroula (Stavrina) Chousou is a 1st year Master of Public Policy candidate specializing in Digital, New Technology and Public Policy. Upon graduating from the University of Piraeus, with an undergraduate degree in International and European Relation, she pursued a research traineeship at the Institute of International Affairs in Athens. There she mainly focused on the use and impact of technology in the unfolding Ukrainian War, as well as the rising state competition for technology supremacy in AI and Quantum Computing. At SciencesPo, Stavrina navigates new approaches combining technical and policy tools to balance ethical and security concerns in rising technologies.

Morgan Williams is a 1st year Master of Public Policy candidate specializing in Digital, New Technology and Public Policy. After completing a BA in Economics at the University of Maryland, Morgan spent two years as an OECD Young Associate where she contributed to multiple strands of the research programme on AI and Work, Innovation, Productivity and Skills (AI-WIPS), as well as research on the platform economy and domestic outsourcing. At SciencesPo, Morgan’s primary interests lie in the intersection between technology, work and US & EU regulations.

Ludovica Pavoni is a 1st year Master of Public Policy candidate specializing in Digital, New Technology and Public Policy. Whilst pursuing her undergraduate degree in International Affairs at John Cabot University, Ludovica interned in a venture capital focusing on AI, VT, and AR. From this experience Ludovica’s interests and research has focused on how to best approach technological advancement and how to best address big data application to the public sector.

Julia Magaud is a 1st year Master of Public Policy candidate specializing in Digital, New Technology and Public Policy. After completing her undergrad as a Political Humanities major at Sciences Po, Julia worked on a research project linking an AI company to London borough councils to improve urban planning. Julia is particularly interested in smart cities and the digitalization of the public sector to improve the delivery of public services.