Just as the phrase “government by WhatsApp” enters the British political lexicon, the platform itself might be on its way out of the UK. So too might Signal — WhatsApp’s not-for-profit, privacy-obsessed competitor — which has become the messaging app of choice for security-conscious officials across the west. Apple, provider of iMessage, is quieter, but no less unhappy.

The problem is a set of new government measures intended to counter the horrors of online child sexual exploitation. These provisions — contained in relatively obscure parts of the much-delayed online safety bill — would give Ofcom, the communications regulator, the power to require messaging platforms to adopt “accredited technology” to detect (and potentially block, and report) illegal images. This is all due for debate in the House of Lords after Easter.

Ministers insist these measures can be implemented without weakening the overall security of messaging services. Service providers and many privacy experts vehemently disagree. If you allow responsible democracies to scan messages for child abuse images, you risk allowing autocracies to use the same tools to scan for political dissent. You can’t just weaken security for the good guys, they argue. Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said on a recent trip to London that if he was asked to choose between complying with UK law and protecting the privacy of users worldwide, he would simply withdraw the platform from a country that makes up just 2 per cent of all users.