Wickr Me, Amazon’s encrypted chat app for mobile, has stopped accepting new users
Wickr Me is an Amazon-owned encrypted chat service that has been closed to new users since December 31, according to an Announcement. announcement The company.
This was the first announcement of the decision in November.
An article about June was published by the NBC News investigation Wickr Me was a favorite product for those who were involved in child sexual abuse material trading. The investigation identified 72 court cases from the past five years in which the defendant allegedly used Wickr (as it’s commonly known) to trade child sexual abuse material. NBC News heard from law enforcement officials and a representative of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Wickr was not doing enough to detect and report such material trading on its platform.
In a statement provided to NBC News in June, an Amazon Web Services spokesperson said: “Amazon is committed to preventing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in every segment of our business, including Wickr, which maintains strict Terms of Use that clearly prohibit illegal activity. We respond quickly to reports of illegal behavior and immediately take appropriate action. Anyone found to be in violation of our terms is subject to account termination.”
“Wickr absolutely responds appropriately to, and cooperates with, law enforcement on these critical matters,” the spokesperson said.
In November’s statement, the company said that Wickr Me would be shut down to make more time and resources available for its business-oriented products, AWS Wickr (and Wickr Enterprise). It did not mention any business it had with. government agenciesThis includes the Department of Defense as well as the Department of Homeland Security.
NBC News attempted to create a test account on the app Jan. 1 but it showed a pop-up that said: “Wickr me will not support new customers starting 31 Dec 2022.” Wickr me will no longer be available after 31 Dec 2023.
Wickr was established in 2012 and uses high-level encryption for a consumer-messaging system. The company had raised $39million in funding by 2015. Many outlets reported that the Islamic State terrorist organisation was using the app in 2015 to recruit new members. Deseret Morning News reported in 2016 that one of the first prosecutions for trading child pornography through the app.
Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr in June 2021. Amazon Web Services acquired Wickr in June 2021. The company was under scrutiny for government contracts with Customs and Border Protection. They also faced questions about their role in records-related scandals. was used You can automatically delete government communications
This article was originally published by NBCNews.com