Hacker News Reader

Comment by JBReefer | Hacker News Reader

I honestly don't think so, the UK isn't important enough globally for WhatsApp to risk losing everything - look at what happened with them in Brazil, which is a larger WhatsApp market by a good bit.

A lot of this stuff feels like a vindication of how Indians make fun of Brits: foot stamping, bureaucratic, and out of touch with a world that has largely passed them by.

View on HN

> A lot of this stuff feels like a vindication of how Indians make fun of Brits: foot stamping, bureaucratic, and out of touch with a world that has largely passed them by.

If there ever was bigger case of people in glass houses should not throw stones, I've yet to see it.

I guess the concern is that other Western countries will get in on the act — TFA refers to Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron saying similar things so, given their level of influence within the bloc, it wouldn’t be hard to see a standard becoming EU-wide; we’ve already seen the FBI talk about compromising encryption (e.g. the San Bernardino iPhone).

That's a great point, actually. I suppose, rather ignorantly, I was talking with regard to the public as opposed to the corporations. Most Brits, at least, don't grasp the true implications of this sort of shit, and will buy into the spin about 'increased' security and terrorism prevention.

>the UK isn't important enough globally for WhatsApp to risk losing everything

But, it can be argued: this is WHY this is such a hot issue in UK politics at the moment. Total surveillance paired with The City's financial machinations = Britain can project its power again.

> I honestly don't think so, the UK isn't important enough globally for WhatsApp to risk losing everything

You are assuming there is no collusion between states. A big assumption in my opinion considering the UK is a part of the Five Eyes.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com