With Trump and Brexit fueling xenophobic policies in the name of national security, our privacy is more precious than ever. But an Amnesty International report just revealed that our intimate Skype conversations may not be as private as we think. 

Even though it’s made by Microsoft, one of the world’s biggest tech companies, Skype still doesn’t have end-to-end encryption, which is one of the best ways to keep our communications to ourselves. 

Edward Snowden’s 2013 leaks showed us just what kind of data NSA and GCHQ are gathering. But with the Snoopers’ Charter passed, and President Trump already enacting parts of his anti-immigrant campaign promises, who knows how that data will be used today. It’s more important than ever that Microsoft bring end-to-end encryption to Skype to keep our conversations safe.  

Amnesty International’s “Message Privacy Ranking” placed Skype close to the bottom. While more and more messaging services ramp up encryption measures, Skype remains vulnerable to government spying and cyber criminals. 

That means our most intimate conversations -- including those of human rights defenders and journalists -- are at risk of government surveillance. Microsoft should make sure our freedoms of the press and our right to public assembly aren’t weakened by insecure communications. 

We’ve pushed corporations to protect our privacy in the past, like when tens of thousands of SumOfUs members urged BT to speak out against the Snoopers’ Charter, or when we successfully pushed Facebook to abandon an Orwellian app that would listen to users’ conversations. Now, facing political uncertainty under right-wing leadership, we need to ask Microsoft to ensure secure communications for Skype users.