Instagram and the ongoing erosion of E2EE: Is the EU failing to protect private communications?

Author: Alessandro Biunno |

Updated on: 05 May 2026 |

Number of views: 967

Hi everyone,

I am writing to bring attention to a critical issue that threatens the digital privacy of millions of EU citizens: the systematic erosion of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in messaging platforms.

Recent moves ,most notably the decision by Instagram to discontinue E2EE for its direct messages, highlights a dangerous trend.

While the EU has recently made strides in pushing back against mass-scanning proposals like "Chat Control," it seems that private companies are now taking over by dismantling the technical safeguards that protect our communications.

Are we witnessing a shift where E2EE is becoming an "optional" feature rather than a standard for secure communication?

I believe this is a defining moment for digital rights in Europe. If the EU is truly committed to the protection of fundamental rights and cybersecurity, why are major platforms allowed to unilaterally downgrade the security of their services for EU users?

I am interested in hearing the community's thoughts:

How can we advocate for E2EE to be legally recognized as the default standard for messaging services in the EU?

Is there a path to challenge these "unilateral downgrades" of security by Big Tech within the current European legislative framework?

I look forward to an insightful discussion.

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Comments

ECI Forum User | 02 June 2026

I may not be a digital privasy expert and dont brung much to discus.

From i know maybe a good start into looking in GDPR (general data protection regulation) one of the key ishues it bring up is encryption amogst other things. (they do bring up data breaches as well but i dont know how releant that is)

The thing about why this is hapening, from my point of view, is becaus of some actors want acces to that information or the tech companies whant to use that information for exampel (training ai or mass scaning) wich is a huge risk privacy in so meany ways. If it gose realy far it can become vaolation of some fundamental rights when it comes to privacy, anonymity and fredom of speach.

as you say in this post. encryption shuld be a opt out and not opt in. i hope i helped a litle bit.

Leónard Geonov | 31 July 2026

The issue is not GDPR. It is the fact that if you translate this to real-world manners:
You send a letter to your friend in Madrid , but the government opens your envelope ,scans the letter , extracts the data and saves a copy. Now they know the contents. They know your words. They know what you wrote. That's scary. Even in medieval times that never happened. The only moment where your envelope could be opened is if you are a high-profile suspect. The issue is that this is expanding towards the regular civilian. It's inhuman to basic communication standards.

AI training on user data without a proper warning and no explicit consent is a huge issue. If we manage to push for changes in the AI act ,we could ban this under digital consumer law and copyright infringement. Sweden was the first country to establish a law where your face is a trademark. IF it's possible to push this for everyone through he body of the EU - I think that it would be a great first step to data privacy

Leónard Geonov | 31 July 2026

Hello,

Recently I've decided to become highly inactive in Instagram and even plan to delete my account's data. I think that it would be a great initiative if we make a move for mandatory E2EE encryption layer for the EU. Privacy is not an option. Companies are pushing for exploitation of user data privacy without a proper warning. Many other apps such as Snapchat, Discord, Slack,etc. also don't use E2EE. For places like Discord that act as a DM forum one might bat an eye, but the issue is that direct messaging is becoming a primary target of E2EE elimination. Maybe the US government pushes for "open space" ,but if the EU truly holds on it's words "Your privacy is our priority" then this should be a reasonable thing to achieve.

Best regards,
Leónard Geonov

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The opinions expressed on the ECI Forum reflect solely the point of view of their authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the position of the European Commission or of the European Union.

Instagram and the ongoing erosion of E2EE: Is the EU failing to protect private communications?

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