WhatsApp could find itself blocked in the United Kingdom over a spat about encryption. And Signal might wind up joining it.Both WhatsApp and Signal are taking a stand against the U.K. government's attempts to weaken the encryption of services like theirs. It's said that the government's aim is to help weed out child abuse material that is sent via the services, but it would also make them less private for everyone else at the same time.Now, the BBC reports that WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart is willing to have his app kicked out of the U.K. entirely rather than relent and reduce the effectiveness of its end-to-end encryption."Our users all around the world want security - 98% of our users are outside the UK, they do not want us to lower the security of the product," Cathcart is reported as having said. "And the app would rather accept being blocked in the U.K."Cathcart was also quick to point out that WhatsApp was similarly blocked in Iran, as if to point out the company the U.K. would be keeping if things went that way.WhatsApp could be joined by Signal after its own president, Meredith Whittaker, said that the company would be pushing back in an attempt to protect its own encryption from governmental meddling. Whittaker had previously told the BBC that Signal would "100% walk" if the U.K. required it to weaken its encryption.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) believes that encryption doesn't necessarily mean getting in the way of privacy, however. The charity's Richard Collard added that "experts have demonstrated that it's possible to tackle child-abuse material and grooming in end-to-end encrypted environments."

The government, for its part, says that its Online Safety Bill "does not represent a ban on end-to-end encryption." Others have argued that the bill could open the door to mass surveillance of U.K. citizens.