Around the world, Facebook has faced increasing pressure from governments to stop exploring end-to-end encryption technology. While on its face, this kind of protection is a good thing for user privacy, it also offers blanket protection for bad actors like terrorists and child predators. And this debate ratcheted up again this week when it was revealed that the UK government may force Facebook to provide access to users’ private messages.

The proposed “backdoor” would allow security agencies and police to read the contents of users’ messages on Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Privacy advocates have already begun to push back against the potential legislation, arguing that it gives authorities carte blanche to monitor users whenever they like. However, the government strongly reiterated its position that end-to-end encryption is dangerous.

“End-to-end encryption poses an unacceptable risk to user safety and society. It would prevent any access to messaging content and severely erode tech companies’ ability to tackle the most serious illegal content on their own platforms, including child abuse and terrorism,” the UK Home Office said in a statement.

While protecting user privacy is obviously important, the UK government also has a point that encryption technology can be easily abused by cybercriminals. Here’s hoping Facebook finds an acceptable middle ground that both protects everyday users and allows for the detection of bad actors.

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