U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is not a fan of message encryption.
During a Monday event, Cameron said the U.K. would not allow communications that are impossible for the feds to read, according to the New York Times and The Guardian.
Cameron pointed to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris as evidence of why the government must "have robust powers through our intelligence and security agencies in order to keep our people safe."
The prime minister did not elaborate on how, exactly, he would ban encrypted communication. It certainly would not be easy. The most recent versions of Apple and Google's mobile operating systems (iOS 8 and Lollipop) are encrypted by default. In November, meanwhile, popular chat service WhatsApp rolled out end-to-end encryption.
At this point, 49.7 percent of those in the U.K. have an Android device, while 42.5 percent have an iPhone, according to November data from Kantar WorldPanel.
The move by Apple and Google means that law enforcement agencies like the FBI cannot access content stored on the devices. That has prompted concern from U.S. officials who need to access things like text messages and other communications during criminal investigations.
In October, FBI Director James Comey urged Congress to enact new legislation requiring companies like Apple and Google to give law enforcement agencies access to encrypted communications about suspected criminals.
"Encryption is simply the 21st century method of protecting personal documents," Google told ABC at the time. "[And] while we won't be able to provide encryption keys to unlock phone data directly, there are still a number of avenues to obtain data through legal channels."
Cameron's speech, meanwhile, comes shortly after the ministers of several European countries called on Internet service providers to report materials that "incite hatred and terror" and remove it when possible.
We are concerned at the increasingly frequent use of the Internet to fuel hatred and violence and signal our determination to ensure that the Internet is not abused to this end, while safeguarding that it remains, in scrupulous observance of fundamental freedoms, a forum for free expression, in full respect of the law."