Signal president Meredith Whittaker has threatened to withdraw the privacy-focused messaging app from Australia if the government forces it to create backdoor access to users’ encrypted data.

Whittaker said Signal would take the “drastic step” of leaving any market where authorities compel it to provide access to encrypted messages, warning that such backdoors would create vulnerabilities that hackers and authoritarian regimes could exploit.

The threat comes amid mounting pressure from Australian security officials on encrypted messaging platforms.

ASIO director general Mike Burgess has urged tech companies to unlock encrypted messages to assist terrorism and national security investigations, noting that offshore extremists use such platforms to communicate.

Whittaker argued that government access to encrypted data represents a dangerous erosion of human rights, citing the case of Jessica Burgess, a Nebraska woman sentenced to two years in jail for helping her teenage daughter obtain an illegal abortion.

Facebook direct messages formed key evidence in the prosecution after Meta handed over the data to authorities.

“You could come to my house, put a gun to my head, saying, ‘give me the data’. I could not give you the data,” Whittaker said, emphasising Signal’s commitment to end-to-end encryption.

“Our ability to make good on that commitment does face threats from legislation.”

The Signal president warned that creating backdoors in one jurisdiction would compromise the entire global network, as communication systems cannot be confined within national borders.

She described this as potentially making Australia a “gangrenous foot” that could poison the platform’s security worldwide.

Signal, which operates as a not-for-profit funded by donations and grants, has gained prominence this year following reports of its use by Washington elite, including US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The app competes with Meta’s WhatsApp and Apple’s iMessage while collecting virtually no user data.

The standoff reflects broader tensions between tech companies and governments over encryption.

In February, the British government ordered Apple to build backdoor access for authorities, forcing Apple to withdraw its advanced data protection service from the UK.

Whittaker also raised concerns about the “rushed” and “reckless” deployment of AI technology on smartphones and laptops, citing examples like Microsoft’s Recall feature, which was pulled following privacy backlash before being reintroduced as an optional feature.

Australian officials have maintained that technology companies are “not above the rule of law” and have accused social media giants of refusing to address extremist content on their platforms.