Google Throws Its Weight Behind Cross-Platform Message Encryption

Google is throwing its weight behind cross-platform message encryption, with plans to incorporate it into Messages.

The EU has been pushing for regulation that would force companies to make their messaging platforms compatible with each other. Some experts have warned the measure could weaken encryption unless the various competing platforms adopt a common encryption standard.

Fortunately, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has proposed the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) Protocol, which is designed to accomplish just that. Google says it is adopting the protocol in Messages to facilitate interoperability.

Giles Hogben, Privacy Engineering Director, outlined the company’s plans:

With the recent publication of the IETF’s Message Layer Security (MLS) specification RFC 9420, messaging users can look forward to this reality. For the first time, MLS enables practical interoperability across services and platforms, scaling to groups of thousands of multi-device users. It is also flexible enough to allow providers to address emerging threats to user privacy and security, such as quantum computing.

By ensuring a uniformly high security and privacy bar that users can trust, MLS will unleash a huge field of new opportunities for the users and developers of interoperable messaging services that adopt it. This is why we intend to build MLS into Google Messages and support its wide deployment across the industry by open sourcing our implementation in the Android codebase.

Google has been a vocal critic of Apple’s decision not to adopt RCS to improve interoperability and security between iOS and Android. Apple has steadfastly refused to budge, but the EU’s regulation may finally force the issue.

Thanks to the MLS Protocol, it looks like there’s a viable option for companies to achieve interoperability without sacrificing security.