IS4234
Research Report - Messaging Applications Industry

 
Group 14
 
Name 
Student ID 



























1. Introduction	2
2. Motivation	3
3. Current state of the art	4
3.1 Current governance methods	4
3.2 Current regulation condition	5
3.3 Current RegTech used	7
4. Current challenges and issues in System Reliability	9
5. Real Business Case Study on System Reliability - KakaoTalk	11
5.1 Overview	11
5.2 Cause of the Incident	11
5.3 Impact of  Incident	12
5.4 Changes Resulting from the Incident	13
6. Current challenges and issues in Privacy	15
7. Real Business Case Study in Privacy - Telegram	16
7.1. Overview	16
8. Potential solutions	18
9. Future trend	27
References	29

























Introduction
A messaging service is a digital platform that enables real-time communication between users, allowing them to exchange text, images, videos, and other media across devices and locations. Key aspects of a messaging app include user-friendly interfaces, strong security features like encryption, efficient message delivery systems, and often additional features such as multimedia sharing, group chats, and notification systems. Messaging apps are commonly used for personal communication, business collaboration, customer service, and even telemedicine. They have significantly shaped our lives by making communication instantaneous and accessible, bridging distances, fostering connections, and even enhancing productivity in professional settings. Through messaging, people can maintain relationships, collaborate remotely, and access services seamlessly, all of which contribute to a more connected and efficient world.















Motivation
As messaging apps become more commonly used in critical settings, including by government officials and key figures in major companies, the need for clear governance, regulatory compliance, and strong safeguards is growing to ensure secure and reliable use.

Effective governance ensures responsible data management, controlled access, and enforced security measures, all of which are essential for building trust in a messaging platform, especially when sensitive or critical information is at stake. Clear regulations encourage all stakeholders to commit to and willingly implement these guidelines. Strong compliance practices further help to prevent misuse, data leaks, and breaches, protecting individuals, organizations, and governments from potential harm.

Some security frameworks, like ISO/IEC 27001 (an international standard for information security management systems), and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the U.S., are already enforced in many parts of the world to safeguard privacy and ensure the reliability of messaging apps. Despite these measures, incidents still occur. Notable examples include the shutdown of KakaoTalk in 2022 due to system failure and the WhatsApp privacy leak in 2021. These incidents highlight a gap in the current governance, regulatory, and compliance frameworks related to system reliability and privacy within messaging apps.

This paper aims to provide valuable insights into strengthening governance, regulatory, and compliance frameworks specifically tailored for messaging apps. By identifying current gaps in privacy protection and system reliability, we hope to offer recommendations that enhance the security and trustworthiness of these platforms. Ultimately, the findings of this paper are intended to guide policymakers, developers, and organizational leaders toward implementing more robust safeguards and standards, ensuring that messaging apps remain reliable and secure even in critical contexts.








Current state of the art
3.1 Current governance methods
Compliance with International Standards and Frameworks
ISO/IEC 27001: Information Security Management (ISO/IEC, 2022): Many instant messaging companies follow the ISO/IEC 27001 standard, which outlines the requirements for an information security management system (ISMS). This framework is designed to help organizations manage the security of assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details, and third-party information. Messaging platforms implementing this standard focus on risk management practices, ensuring that information remains secure from unauthorized access or breaches.
ISO/IEC 27018: Cloud Privacy Protection (ISO/IEC, 2019): For platforms that rely on cloud infrastructure, ISO/IEC 27018 specifically addresses the protection of personal data in the cloud. This standard is particularly relevant for instant messaging services that store user data in the cloud, as it provides guidelines for managing privacy risks and securing sensitive personal information.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance (European Union, 2016): Although not an "ISO" framework, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has become the global standard for data privacy and protection, particularly in Europe. Companies such as WhatsApp, iMessage, and Telegram align with GDPR’s provisions, ensuring users' rights to data access, correction, and deletion, as well as implementing technical measures like encryption to protect user data.
Internal Governance Structures
Data Protection Officer (DPO): A critical element of governance for instant messaging platforms is the appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO). The DPO ensures that the company complies with relevant privacy laws, monitors data handling practices, and acts as a liaison between the company and regulatory bodies. This role is mandated under GDPR and other regional data protection laws.
Risk Management Frameworks: Instant messaging companies often implement comprehensive risk management frameworks, which include:
Risk Assessment and Audits: Regular audits and assessments help identify potential vulnerabilities and mitigate risks associated with data breaches and security threats.
Incident Response Plans: To address potential data breaches or security incidents, instant messaging companies prepare predefined response protocols to limit damage, investigate breaches, and notify regulators and users when required.
Security and Privacy Standards
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Security remains a top priority for instant messaging platforms (Endeley, R. E., 2017). Leading companies such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal adopt End-to-End Encryption (E2EE), which ensures that only the sender and the intended recipient can access the content of a message. This standard aligns with ISO/IEC 27001's objectives, preventing unauthorized access and ensuring privacy.
These platforms conduct penetration testing and regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities within their systems. They may also work with external security firms to conduct independent assessments of their platforms' security posture.
Transparency and Reporting
Companies like WhatsApp and Telegram provide transparency reports that detail government data requests, user data handling practices, and compliance with local laws (Wagner et al., 2020). These reports enhance trust and allow users to understand how their data is managed and when it may be shared with authorities.
Internal Privacy Policies and Ethical Guidelines Internal governance is also shaped by clear privacy policies and ethical guidelines. These policies govern how user data is collected, stored, and shared, ensuring that platforms are transparent about their practices and compliant with regulatory standards.
3.2 Current regulation condition 
Regulation Approach
As the digital ecosystem grows, there is a notable diversity in the regulatory approaches adopted by different regions. Key players include the European Union (EU), the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, each introducing their own set of rules to govern platforms, including instant messaging services.
European Union: The EU has taken a proactive stance with its Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), which impose stringent requirements on online platforms (European Commission, 2020). These include measures to ensure the safety of minors, protect users from illegal content, and promote transparency in content moderation. Messaging platforms are required to implement risk assessments, provide content moderation tools, and take swift action against harmful content.
United Kingdom: The UK’s Online Safety Bill (2024) sets a new global standard for regulating online platforms, including instant messaging services (UK Parliament.,2024). The Bill imposes a duty of care on platforms to protect users from harmful content, such as child sexual abuse material and terrorism. For platforms like instant messaging apps, the legislation mandates age verification mechanisms and requires companies to address risks associated with private communications.
United States: In the U.S., there is currently no single federal law regulating instant messaging platforms. However, regulations like the Communications Decency Act Section 230 provide platforms with immunity from liability for user-generated content (Exon, J., 1996). The regulatory landscape is dynamic, with ongoing discussions about updating Section 230 to better address issues related to online harm.
China: China has implemented stringent regulations through laws like the Cybersecurity Law and Personal Information Protection Law, which place heavy obligations on tech companies to control content, ensure data protection, and maintain national security. The government mandates extensive monitoring and content filtering by instant messaging platforms operating in the country.
Key Regulatory Measures
Several core principles are emerging as common threads across global regulations for instant messaging platforms:
Content Moderation and Safety: Platforms are required to address illegal content proactively, including child exploitation materials, hate speech, and terrorist propaganda. The regulations often mandate robust systems for detecting and removing such content, alongside creating mechanisms for users to report harmful activities.
Data Protection and Privacy: With growing concerns over data breaches and privacy violations, countries are enhancing regulations around user data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, for example, imposes strict guidelines on how personal data is collected, processed, and stored. Instant messaging platforms are required to obtain explicit consent from users for data processing and to provide clear mechanisms for data access and deletion.
Age Verification and Protection of Minors: Many jurisdictions, including the EU and the UK, are enforcing measures to protect minors from accessing inappropriate content. Age verification systems are being implemented to ensure that children cannot access platforms unsuitable for their age.
Transparency and Accountability: Platforms, particularly those with large user bases, are required to disclose their content moderation practices and report on their efforts to combat harmful content. Transparency reports are becoming a key requirement for compliance, helping to hold companies accountable for their actions.
Enforcement and Penalties
Enforcement of these regulations is a critical aspect of ensuring compliance. In several regions, regulators have been empowered to impose heavy fines and penalties on non-compliant platforms:
United Kingdom: Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, can fine platforms up to £18 million or 10% of their annual global turnover for failing to meet regulatory requirements. This includes non-compliance with content moderation standards and failure to protect users from harm (UK Government, 2022).
European Union: The EU’s Digital Services Act imposes similar penalties for non-compliance, with platforms facing significant fines for failure to act on illegal content or provide adequate user safety protections.
China: In China, tech companies face severe penalties, including service suspensions or shutdowns, for failing to comply with content regulation and cybersecurity laws.

3.3 Current RegTech used 
Trends in RegTech for Instant Messaging Platforms
Real-Time Identity Verification: One of the primary advancements in RegTech for instant messaging platforms is real-time identity verification. Solutions like Trulioo provide a digital identity platform capable of verifying both individuals and businesses globally. This platform offers instant verification capabilities that improve processing speed and ensure compliance with identity verification regulations. According to Trulioo's latest update, their instant results capability has reduced the average onboarding time by 56% while maintaining verification accuracy. This speed and accuracy are crucial for instant messaging apps that process numerous transactions and interactions.
AI-Driven Compliance Monitoring: RegTech platforms have also harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate regulatory compliance processes (Singh, C., & Lin, W., 2021). These technologies are particularly beneficial in instant messaging applications, which often require constant monitoring of user data and communication activities. For example, AI can help platforms automatically interpret financial regulations and detect anomalies in real-time, reducing human error and ensuring compliance with laws such as GDPR and CCPA. By continuously analyzing large datasets, AI can detect and flag potential non-compliance issues before they escalate.
KYC Automation via Bots: Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliance is essential for platforms that engage in financial transactions. KYC bots, like those developed by AskLulo, have been integrated into instant messaging platforms to automate the client identification process. These bots guide users through KYC procedures directly within messaging apps, improving the efficiency of compliance and reducing user friction. The automation of KYC processes not only enhances the user experience but also ensures that businesses comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Cloud-Based Compliance Tools: Cloud-powered RegTech solutions are another significant trend, especially for financial institutions using messaging apps for customer communication. ComplyFirst, for example, offers a cloud-based platform that automates regulatory reporting, streamlining the process from data collection to submission. The platform integrates legal workflows to ensure compliance with financial regulations, such as those set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. The cloud-based approach allows for better data management, cross-party collaboration, and real-time compliance monitoring, all of which are essential for global messaging platforms.



Current challenges and issues in System Reliability 
Governance challenges
The stability of digital services directly impacts user trust in the service and is a critical element of a business's core competitiveness. Some global companies have effective processes, technologies, dedicated teams, internal regulations, and periodic training processes in place to ensure system stability. For example, Google has developed the Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) methodology to enhance the reliability of its systems and provide trustworthy services to customers. SRE is based on core principles such as risk acceptance, service level objectives, eliminating unnecessary tasks, distributed system monitoring, and simplicity, systematically managing Google's entire system.
However, many other digital service providers have defined basic processes for handling outages and disaster situations, but often lack systematic management systems. In terms of governance related to digital service stability, they face several challenges, such as the lack of dedicated teams and expertise, insufficient response plans for ensuring business continuity, inadequate vendor and third-party risk management frameworks, and difficulty in changing organizational culture regarding the importance of system stability. Furthermore, at the C-level, there is still a tendency to prioritize short-term profit generation over proactive investments in outage and disaster management, often considering these tasks as secondary. Once a system outage occurs and customer trust is lost, significant costs and time are required for recovery. Therefore, it is essential to establish effective governance to create a sustainable business foundation.
Regulatory challenges
In most countries, governments regulate financial institutions, such as banks, and telecommunications infrastructure-related companies to ensure that their systems operate reliably. However, there are no established regulations regarding the system stability of digital service companies. As we enter the digital age, certain digital services have had a significant impact on the daily lives of citizens in many countries, leading to various discussions about introducing regulations. There are differing opinions, with some arguing that strict regulations could hinder innovation, while others believe that regulations are necessary to minimize the social disruption caused by digital service outages.
From the business perspective, with the increasing number of regulations on digital companies (such as the EU's DSA, DMA, etc.), the introduction of regulations related to system stability could lead to significant compliance costs and increased business complexity due to regulatory differences across countries. In South Korea, regulations to ensure system stability have already been introduced, and specific details will be covered in the case study. Therefore, companies need to closely monitor regulatory changes in each country and build organizations and systems that can respond flexibly. Additionally, governments must create a reasonable regulatory environment that allows innovation and regulation to coexist harmoniously.
RegTech challenges
In the financial sector, standardized regulations have already been established, and various RegTech solutions are being implemented and utilized. However, regulations to ensure service stability for digital service companies, such as messaging services and search engines, have not yet been standardized. However, major cloud providers (MS, Amazon, Google, etc.) consider system stability to be critically important, and they have developed their own technologies to support customers in running their businesses securely and reliably. Other companies are focusing more on improving their own service reliability than on regulatory compliance, implementing various technologies such as automated monitoring and alert systems, AI-driven incident response, and security testing. As the global regulatory environment evolves, the development direction of RegTech will also change, and companies need to invest in research and development to respond flexibly to regulatory changes and enhance the reliability of their own businesses.






Real Business Case Study on System Reliability - KakaoTalk
5.1 Overview
Kakao, one of South Korea's leading IT companies, offers a wide range of services in various fields such as messaging, mobility, gaming, and payments, having a close impact on the lives of Korean citizens. On October 15, 2022, a fire broke out at the data center where Kakao's main software was operating, resulting in widespread disruptions to the digital services provided by Kakao. It took 127 hours and 33 minutes for Kakao's digital services to be fully restored, during which time Korean citizens faced significant inconveniences. Although the services were eventually restored, this incident highlighted the importance of digital service reliability in South Korea and served as a catalyst for the government to create new laws and regulations.
5.2 Cause of the Incident
Fire Incident: On October 15, 2022, a fire broke out in the battery room of the SK C&C Pangyo Data Center, where Kakao's main software was operating. During the firefighting process, the power to the entire building was cut off, and the operations of the data center were completely suspended.
The battery monitoring system, which automatically alerts administrators when the battery temperature rises, was not functioning properly. The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) was not physically isolated, resulting in a complete power shutdown to all servers when the data center lost power.
There was a lack of specialized fire prevention manuals for the recently installed lithium-ion batteries. The structural integrity of the data center was insufficient, making it difficult to quickly identify the power cutoff switches in specific areas, and the UPS system was unable to function properly.
Additionally, there was a lack of specific action plans and training to effectively respond to a fire incident in the data center.
Redundancy System Failure: Kakao operated redundant servers in multiple regions to prepare for the potential failure of specific data centers. However, during the incident, the active-standby system between the Pangyo data center (active) and the other centers (standby) was not functioning properly.
When the active server encountered issues, the tools necessary to activate the standby servers were not replicated across all data centers, leading to a significant delay in service recovery.
There was a lack of comprehensive recovery plans, training, and preventive education for scenarios where an entire data center in a specific region fails. Concentrating most of Kakao's core services in a single data center indicates a vulnerability in risk prevention.

5.3 Impact of  Incident
(Users) The messaging service KakaoTalk experienced disruptions, preventing 47.6 million users from accessing the messaging service. The mobility service Kakao T faced outages, leading to a suspension of ride-hailing services, which impacted 12.5 million users. The payment service Kakao Pay also experienced disruptions, halting mobile payments and transfers, affecting 23 million users.
(Company) The service disruption had an immediate impact on Kakao's stock price, resulting in a loss of 49.7 billion KRW for the quarter due to service outages and subsequent compensation. Customer loyalty declined as users switched to competitor services during the disruption. The CEO of Kakao publicly apologized for the lack of prevention and response measures and resigned.
Kakao's quarterly earnings



(Society) Concerns have spread that disruptions in digital services, which play an essential role in daily life, can significantly impact society as a whole. As a result, discussions have begun regarding the establishment of governance and the introduction of reasonable regulations to ensure the stability of services provided by major digital companies
5.4 Changes Resulting from the Incident
Corporate Governance
A dedicated organization will be established to prevent and respond to incidents and disaster situations, and regular training will be conducted to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Recovery priorities and goals will be set for the company's key services and functions in preparation for incidents, along with a detailed response plan that includes failure detection, propagation, and recovery. Additionally, principles and criteria for user compensation in the event of service disruptions will be established.
Regulation
Following the incident, the government announced a plan to strengthen the stability of digital services, which includes enhancing the survivability of data centers, improving the resilience of digital services, and establishing a foundation for digital crisis management. Along with this, legal amendments were also initiated.
First, a legal amendment was made to mandate disaster management for major digital service providers. Previously, the disaster management obligations applied only to network infrastructure operators, but this has now been extended to include major digital service providers.
Existing Framework Act on Telecommunications Development
Amended Framework Act on Telecommunications Development
(Target) Major network infrastructure operators
 (Content) Prevention and response to network failures / Safety management of critical communication facilities / Operation of dedicated disaster response organizations / Conduct of simulation training
(Target) Expanded from existing major network infrastructure operators to include major digital service providers and major data center operators
 (Content) Similar to the existing provisions

Next, a legal amendment was made to require major digital service providers to regularly submit reports to the government on the status and plans for service stability measures.
Existing Telecommunications Business Act
Amended Telecommunications Business Act
(Target) Major digital service providers
 (Content) Must take necessary measures to provide stable digital services.
(Target) Major digital service providers
 (Content) Must take necessary measures to provide stable digital services / Report the status and plans for ensuring service stability to the government annually.

 
5.5 Conclusion
The digital service outage of Kakao that occurred in South Korea had a significant impact that went beyond inconveniencing the daily lives of citizens—it paralyzed the entire economy and society. This incident prompted the South Korean government to legally mandate disaster response systems for major digital services. Given the growing importance of digital services—illustrated by recent events like Microsoft's cloud outage affecting various services worldwide—it is necessary to examine governance, regulations, and other measures to ensure digital service stability, using South Korea's case as a reference.






Current challenges and issues in Privacy
Governance challenges
One of the most talked-about issues in messaging services is data privacy. Which, if we narrow it down in messaging services case, it's more about the privacy of our personal chats rather than just the user's information even though the user's information is just as critical.
Most probably, messaging services developers use well-known software libraries to do many things, whether it’s network calls, user authentication, and even for their encryption. Not only for their production or operation environment, the engineers must be using some well-known public tools during their development lifecycle, e.g. to login to the development (or even production) servers. This brings governance challenges, because the disclosure of any public libraries (especially the old ones) used could trigger some parties (even state-sponsored) to start to inject some malicious update to their public libraries code. Injection malicious updates, with no doubt, will hurt the privacy aspects of the messaging services because there might be backdoors that make it possible to open all users’ messages.
More serious companies must also ensure that they limit the usage of some public libraries or tools, because of how fragile it is to hidden backdoors, but still keep balances so that this limitation won’t just introduce new vulnerabilities and hard engineering challenges. This is a complex governance challenge because every system increment must evaluate the libraries that are needed comprehensively first, develop new libraries for risky implementations, etc. These things could bring down development velocity and the time to market, which might not be very good metrics for the management. 
Regulatory challenges
Because of the nature of messaging services, which are connecting people from all around the world, it will certainly be harder to comply with local data protection laws from these many different countries. For example, if a Russian citizen is messaging a Singaporean, the laws under different jurisdictions might make it harder for the messaging service company to process and store these messages. The Russian Federal Law mandates that the data of Russian citizens must be stored in servers located in Russia (data localization), while PDPA doesn’t mandate this data localization policy. If two parties from two different countries mandate the same data localization policy, these regulatory challenges might even bring new engineering tasks because the data stored will be fragmented.
Regulations for fully private messaging services are harder to negotiate, because they might be seen as threats by the governments because it could hide communications done by dangerous organizations. Telegram, for example, claimed many interventions done by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies to give backdoors to users’ personal chats because of the dangerous activities allegedly done in telegram. So, while fully private messaging services are seen as something important and beneficial by the citizens, they might not be seen the same way by the government because of the dangers it might hide.
RegTech challenges
Again, because of the multi-jurisdictions nature of messaging services, the parties involved in a single messaging activity could be from many different countries with different local data protection laws and this could introduce engineering challenges. To comply with these laws from different countries, different companies might implement different solutions. If we’re positioning ourselves as practitioners, we think that the usage of regtech from 3rd parties might need bespoke solutions for different companies. This challenge might reduce the efficiency of 3rd party regtech that were designed as Commercial Off-the-Shelf.
The next problem with using 3rd party regtech for privacy-first messaging services is the people using these services because of the privacy claims are more skeptical about using 3rd parties to manage their data, even if it’s to comply with the local regulations. 3rd parties could be seen as the “weak-chain” that could compromise users’ privacy, one way or another. Is using 3rd party regtech to simplify compliance processes worth the potential distrust by the customer base? We think privacy-first messaging companies need to strike a balance between them, so they’re still up-to-date with the compliance needs and the customers won’t bring distrust to the table.


Real Business Case Study in Privacy - Telegram
Overview
Telegram, being a fully private messaging application, has brought many controversies to the digital world. They are claiming that they’re using end-to-end encryption on the messages and they do not have access to the user messages. A fully private messaging service is a rare case, we do not see many of them although there are many messaging service companies that claim so.  For example, WhatsApp, although they claim that the messages there are fully private, it is not until a few years ago they introduced an encrypted backup mechanism. Before that, it was well known by the privacy community that their backup mechanism isn’t encrypted and authorities or people at WhatsApp can see user messages when done. But, was the introduction of encrypted backup because of good intentions or they just found a better backdoor mechanism to access user messages, we don’t really know. 
Telegram is kind of different, at least from what we know. Their founder was recently arrested by the French authorities, because Telegram was accused of facilitating illegal activities and not providing authorities the information they needed for investigations. We think that it’s a good sign of Telegram not abusing their platform to provide user messages, without their consent, to other parties. If there is a known backdoor, whether intentional or not by Telegram, we think it might be better for the authorities to directly use it rather than making a scene at international level by arresting the founder of a very famous encrypted messaging service company.
The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, previously claimed that the US government tried to bribe Telegram engineers to tell the US government the information they wanted to know. It wasn’t necessarily a direct information of user messages of some criminals that the US government was trying to catch, but it could be what open source libraries they use, how their client-server protocol works, and their cryptography strategy. The founder claimed that the engineers didn’t take the bribe, so hopefully Telegram is still private and has no open backdoor.

Technical Explanation of Software and Software Libraries
Software that use open source libraries are more prone to backdoors if a complete protection of the server environment is not provided. Many open source projects receive a merge request (git mechanism of introducing an update to a software) that includes backdoors, many were caught and many weren’t. For example, there is an open source disk encryption software called TrueCrypt that was mysteriously discontinued in 2014. Many people are saying it is a state-sponsored attack on the software by the US government. Another example is a backdoor found in a well known and very widely used open source library, XZ Utils. Many people are also saying that it is a state-sponsored attack that was done by supplying a backdoor to the library. These examples show that open source libraries are prone to backdoors and privacy-first messaging companies need to strike a balance between using them and creating their own. Disclosure of the libraries used or the encryption strategies could be misused by some parties to introduce backdoors and give them free and unwanted access to the user messages, because the adversaries are state-sponsored actors and they could do many attacks at a bigger scale.\

Why We Think It’s The Result of Good Governance
	Telegram did not disclose the libraries and encryption strategies used by them in their server-side software, and they even allegedly created their own protocols for the cryptography part which shows their seriousness in creating a fully private messaging service. The governance of the usage of open source libraries and cryptography mechanisms by the engineers at Telegram is excellent. We think that it’s a good sign of how they have done their due diligence of the libraries they use in their software, even though doing so clearly slows down the development process. The fact that none of the Telegram engineers disclose the libraries used and they didn’t take the bribe for it is also an example of excellent governance and discipline exercised by them.
Potential solutions 
Add some photos in here, add some diagrams, also add in some tables. 
Need to quote some more research reports. 
Addressing the challenges in the messaging applications industry necessitates a comprehensive approach that encompasses technological advancements, robust governance frameworks, regulatory compliance, proactive engagement with users and stakeholders, and ethical considerations. This section outlines potential solutions to enhance system reliability, strengthen privacy protections, improve corporate governance, ensure regulatory compliance, leverage technological innovations, foster industry collaboration, and engage users effectively. Real-life examples are integrated into the discussion to substantiate the points made.

6.1 Enhancing System Reliability
System reliability is crucial for messaging platforms, as disruptions can have significant impacts on users and society, as evidenced by the Kakao incident in South Korea. To enhance reliability, messaging platforms should implement redundant infrastructure, improve disaster recovery planning, conduct regular risk assessments, establish robust incident response protocols, and invest in infrastructure resilience.

6.1.1 Implementing Redundant Data Centers and Geo-Replication

One of the fundamental steps in enhancing system reliability is establishing multiple data centers in geographically diverse locations. By adopting an active-active configuration, where all data centers operate simultaneously and share the load, platforms can ensure seamless failover if one center experiences issues. Geo-replication of data across these centers in real-time prevents data loss and maintains consistency.

For instance, Facebook (now Meta) operates multiple data centers worldwide to support services like WhatsApp and Messenger. In 2019, when a routing issue caused a partial outage, Facebook's distributed infrastructure allowed them to restore services rapidly. This redundancy ensured that users experienced minimal disruption, highlighting the effectiveness of geo-replication and multiple data centers in maintaining service continuity.

6.1.2 Improving Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning

Developing comprehensive Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) is essential for swift recovery from incidents. Platforms should define clear Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for critical services, regularly update and test plans, and collaborate with third parties.

The importance of such planning was highlighted by the experience of financial institutions like Goldman Sachs following Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The hurricane disrupted data centers in New York, prompting Goldman Sachs to enhance their BCP by establishing backup sites and conducting regular drills. These measures proved effective during subsequent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and demonstrating the value of robust disaster recovery planning.

6.1.3 Conducting Regular Risk Assessments and Stress Testing

Regular risk assessments and stress testing help identify potential vulnerabilities and evaluate system resilience under various scenarios. Netflix, for example, employs a tool called Chaos Monkey to intentionally disable production instances, testing the resilience of their systems against unexpected failures. This proactive approach has enabled Netflix to build robust systems capable of maintaining continuous streaming services to millions of users globally, even when individual components fail.

6.1.4 Establishing Robust Incident Response Protocols

A well-defined incident response plan is vital for minimizing impact during system failures or security breaches. Such plans should include incident detection and alerting mechanisms, clear roles and responsibilities, communication strategies, and post-incident reviews.

The 2020 Twitter security breach, where high-profile accounts were compromised, underscores the importance of robust incident response. Twitter's incident response team acted swiftly to lock down affected accounts, communicate with users, and coordinate with law enforcement. Their prompt actions minimized the breach's impact and led to improvements in security protocols, illustrating how effective incident response can mitigate damage and restore trust.

6.1.5 Investing in Infrastructure Resilience

Enhancing physical and technological infrastructure reduces the likelihood of failures and increases system robustness. Google invests heavily in designing energy-efficient and secure data centers. They utilize custom servers, advanced cooling systems, and state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression technologies. Their data centers employ redundant power supplies and stringent security protocols, which contribute to Google's high service availability and reliability. This investment in infrastructure resilience demonstrates how prioritizing physical systems can support overall system stability.

6.2 Strengthening Privacy Protections
Privacy is a paramount concern for users of messaging applications. Strengthening privacy protections involves implementing end-to-end encryption by default, adopting privacy-by-design principles, enhancing user control over data, and complying with global data protection regulations, especially when it comes to a widely-used service such as Telegram. 

6.2.1 Implementing End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) by Default

Implementing E2EE ensures that only the communicating parties can access the message content, significantly enhancing user privacy. In 2016, WhatsApp set a new industry standard by rolling out E2EE for all its users by default, employing the Signal Protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems. Despite challenges from governments requesting access to communications for security reasons, WhatsApp has maintained its commitment to E2EE. This steadfast approach demonstrates the feasibility and importance of providing strong privacy protections while balancing legal pressures.

6.2.2 Adopting Privacy-by-Design Principles

Integrating privacy considerations into every stage of product development helps build secure platforms. This involves data minimization, obtaining user consent, setting secure defaults, and conducting regular privacy impact assessments.

Apple's iMessage service exemplifies privacy-by-design. Messages are encrypted end-to-end, and Apple employs Differential Privacy techniques to collect usage data without compromising individual identities. Features like minimal data retention and on-device processing illustrate Apple's commitment to privacy at the core of its services. By prioritizing privacy in design, Apple builds user trust and complies with stringent privacy regulations.

6.2.3 Enhancing User Control Over Data

Empowering users with control over their data fosters trust and complies with regulatory requirements. This can be achieved through transparent privacy policies, facilitating data portability, honoring the right to erasure, and offering granular consent options.

Telegram provides users with options to schedule messages to self-destruct, withdraw sent messages, and control who can see their phone numbers and profile photos. These features give users greater autonomy over their data and interactions. Following the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies like Facebook updated privacy settings to make it easier for users to download their data and manage permissions, reflecting a broader industry shift towards user empowerment and compliance.

6.2.4 Complying with Global Data Protection Regulations

Alignment with international data protection laws is essential for legal compliance and demonstrates a commitment to user privacy. After the introduction of GDPR in the European Union, Microsoft took significant compliance steps by appointing a Data Protection Officer, updating privacy policies, and providing tools for users to control their data. Microsoft extended GDPR's core rights to consumers worldwide, showcasing proactive compliance and a strong stance on privacy protection.

6.3 Improving Corporate Governance
Effective corporate governance ensures accountability and risk management within organizations. Improvements can be made by establishing dedicated disaster management teams, conducting regular training and drills, defining clear roles and responsibilities, and implementing internal audits and compliance checks.

6.3.1 Establishing Dedicated Disaster Management Teams

Creating specialized teams focused on incident prevention and response enhances organizational readiness. Following extensive service outages in 2021, Fastly, a cloud computing services provider, revamped its incident management team. By establishing a dedicated team with cross-functional expertise, Fastly improved its ability to quickly mitigate network disruptions, leading to enhanced reliability and customer trust.

6.3.2 Conducting Regular Training and Drills

Regular training ensures that staff are prepared to execute plans effectively during crises. Amazon Web Services (AWS) conducts GameDays—simulations where teams practice responding to various failure scenarios. These drills help AWS personnel prepare for real-world incidents, contributing to the company's reputation for high reliability and swift issue resolution.

6.3.3 Defining Clear Roles and Responsibilities

Clarity in roles prevents confusion and delays during incidents. Slack Technologies, after experiencing coordination issues during outages, redefined their incident response protocols by establishing an Incident Commander role responsible for overseeing response efforts. This change streamlined decision-making processes, reduced recovery times, and improved overall incident management efficiency.

6.3.4 Implementing Internal Audits and Compliance Checks

Regular internal audits help maintain adherence to policies and regulations. Dropbox performs annual internal audits to uphold their ISO/IEC 27001 certification. These audits allow Dropbox to identify areas of non-compliance and implement improvements, ensuring continuous enhancement of their information security management systems.

6.4 Regulatory Compliance and Engagement
Navigating the complex regulatory landscape requires proactive engagement with regulators, adherence to enhanced regulatory requirements, investment in RegTech solutions, and maintaining transparency and accountability.

6.4.1 Proactive Engagement with Regulators

Building relationships with regulatory bodies helps shape favorable regulatory environments and keeps companies ahead of compliance requirements. Google actively engages with regulators worldwide, participating in consultations on policies like the EU Digital Services Act. By providing feedback and collaborating on best practices, Google aims to influence regulations to balance user protection with business innovation.

6.4.2 Adhering to Enhanced Regulatory Requirements

Compliance with laws mandating disaster management and service stability is essential. After the implementation of China's Cybersecurity Law, WeChat (owned by Tencent) adjusted its data storage practices to comply with data localization requirements. Tencent also aligned its operations with content regulation mandates, demonstrating adherence to enhanced regulatory requirements and avoiding legal penalties.

6.4.3 Investing in RegTech Solutions (mentioned before) 

Leveraging Regulatory Technology (RegTech) solutions streamlines compliance processes. Standard Chartered Bank adopted an AI-based RegTech solution to monitor transactions and communications, including messaging platforms. This system detects potential compliance breaches in real-time across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring adherence to financial regulations and reducing the risk of costly violations.

6.4.4 Transparency Reporting and Accountability Measures

Transparency builds trust with users and regulators. Signal publishes a Transparency Report detailing requests received for user data and their responses. While Signal collects minimal data, the report underscores their commitment to user privacy and legal compliance. Such practices enhance user trust and demonstrate accountability, fostering a positive reputation.

6.5 Technological Innovations
Harnessing technological advancements can improve system security, efficiency, and user experience. Messaging platforms can leverage AI and machine learning, implement automated failover systems, and adopt cloud-based solutions.

6.5.1 Leveraging AI and Machine Learning

Applying AI and machine learning enhances system security and operational efficiency. Microsoft Teams utilizes AI to optimize call quality by predicting network conditions and adjusting audio and video streams accordingly. This results in a more reliable user experience, particularly in environments with fluctuating network stability. By continuously learning and adapting, AI helps maintain high service levels.

6.5.2 Implementing Automated Failover Systems

Automation reduces reliance on manual intervention during failures. Amazon's retail platform employs automated failover mechanisms within its architecture. In the event of a service failure, traffic is automatically rerouted to healthy instances, minimizing downtime. This automation was crucial during high-traffic events like Prime Day, where system resilience is vital to handle the surge in user activity.

6.5.3 Adopting Cloud-Based Solutions

Cloud services offer scalability, flexibility, and resilience. Slack migrated its infrastructure to AWS cloud services, enabling it to scale resources dynamically based on demand. Leveraging AWS's global infrastructure provided better redundancy and reliability, enhancing Slack's ability to deliver consistent service to users worldwide.

6.6 Collaboration and Industry Standards
Collaboration within the industry and adherence to standards address common challenges and enhance collective security. Participating in industry consortia and sharing threat intelligence are effective strategies.

6.6.1 Participating in Industry Consortia

Engaging in industry groups allows companies to develop best practices, standardize protocols, and advocate for favorable policies. The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M^3AAWG) includes members like Google, Microsoft, and Verizon, who collaborate to combat messaging abuse. By working together, they develop standards to protect users from spam, phishing, and other threats, thus improving the overall ecosystem.

6.6.2 Sharing Threat Intelligence

Sharing information about emerging threats enhances security across the industry. Facebook contributes to the Cyber Threat Alliance, providing insights about cybersecurity threats. This collective intelligence helps organizations stay informed about new adversarial tactics and improve their defenses, benefiting not just individual companies but the broader digital community.

6.7 User Education and Communication
Educational initiatives and transparent communication are vital for building trust and ensuring users are informed about data practices and incidents.

6.7.1 Informing Users About Data Practices and Security Measures

Educating users on how their data is used and how they can protect themselves fosters trust and empowers users. In 2021, WhatsApp launched a public education campaign to explain its updated privacy policy. By addressing misconceptions and providing detailed FAQs and in-app notifications, they improved transparency and helped users understand the nuances of data usage.

6.7.2 Transparent Communication During Incidents

Open communication during service disruptions maintains user trust. During the October 2021 Facebook outage that affected WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook services, the company used alternative platforms like Twitter to keep users informed. After services were restored, Facebook published a detailed explanation of the causes and corrective measures taken. This transparency helped mitigate user frustration and reinforced the company's commitment to reliability.

6.8 Ethical Considerations
Balancing privacy and regulatory requirements and promoting ethical use of data are critical ethical considerations for messaging platforms.

6.8.1 Balancing Privacy and Regulatory Requirements

Navigating the tension between user privacy and legal obligations is challenging. Apple has faced demands from law enforcement agencies for access to encrypted data but has maintained its commitment to strong encryption. Technologies like Secure Enclave protect user data on devices, and Apple's stance reflects an effort to balance regulatory requirements with privacy promises. While this has led to legal debates, it underscores the importance of defending user privacy in the face of external pressures.

6.8.2 Promoting Ethical Use of Data

Responsible data practices build trust and ensure compliance with ethical standards. OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, emphasizes ethical AI use by implementing policies to prevent misuse of its language models. OpenAI publishes guidelines and engages with the AI community to promote responsible development and deployment of AI technologies. By proactively addressing ethical concerns, companies can foster positive relationships with users and stakeholders.

6.9 Conclusion 

By adopting these potential solutions and learning from real-life examples, messaging application providers can effectively address the challenges of system reliability and privacy. Implementing these strategies ensures the delivery of secure, dependable services to users while complying with regulatory requirements and ethical standards. The integration of technological innovations, robust governance, proactive regulatory engagement, effective user communication, and ethical considerations forms a comprehensive strategy to enhance resilience and trust in the messaging applications industry.








Future trend
8.1 Unified Global Standards

The global usage of messaging apps connects individuals across borders, enabling communication between people in different countries, each with unique privacy, security, and regulatory standards. This fragmentation poses challenges, particularly as messaging platforms are increasingly used by government officials and corporate leaders who may discuss sensitive or national security-related topics. When users from diverse jurisdictions communicate, varying regulations can lead to inconsistencies in data protection and privacy, exposing critical information to different levels of security risk and compliance complexities.
A unified global regulatory framework could help address these challenges by establishing consistent standards for privacy, security, and system reliability in messaging apps. Such a framework would protect user data and support national security interests by creating a common baseline, allowing countries to build on these standards with additional regulations tailored to their specific needs. For example, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and APEC's Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system provide multinational governance frameworks that promote privacy protection and secure data transfer across borders. This approach would help messaging app providers achieve reliable, cross-border compliance, ensuring the secure and trustworthy use of messaging platforms worldwide.
8.2 Interoperability of Messaging App

The trend of interoperability between messaging apps like WhatsApp, Meta Messenger, and Signal aims to create a more connected communication ecosystem, allowing users across different platforms to seamlessly interact. However, this growing interconnectedness introduces significant Governance, Regulation, and Compliance concerns. As data flows across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent privacy protection, data security, and system reliability becomes more complex, particularly when different services are governed by varying regulations, such as GDPR in the EU. The challenge lies in maintaining secure cross-platform communication while addressing issues like user consent, data retention policies, and compliance with diverse national regulations, which could lead to vulnerabilities or privacy risks if not carefully managed.

8.3 Quantum Computing Threats

Quantum computing presents a significant challenge to current encryption methods, potentially breaking traditional cryptographic algorithms that rely on the complexity of mathematical problems, such as RSA and ECC. As quantum computers become more powerful, the need for quantum-safe encryption is growing to ensure that sensitive data, including private communications on messaging apps, remains secure. This shift towards quantum-resistant algorithms is critical for the future of privacy-preserving regulations, as governments and regulatory bodies will need to adapt to protect data from quantum-enabled decryption. As quantum computing evolves, it will likely drive the development of new privacy standards and encryption protocols to safeguard user data, reshaping how privacy regulations are structured to account for future technological threats.

8.4 Emergence of AI

The rise of AI and chatbots, especially those powered by large language models (LLMs), has transformed industries like customer service and communication. However, these systems can pose privacy risks because they often rely on third-party services or cloud providers for processing and storing data. When sensitive information is entered into these AI systems, it might be accessed or misused by these external providers. This reliance on third-party services can weaken privacy regulations because control over how data is handled is no longer fully in the hands of the messaging app provider. Even if an app follows privacy laws like GDPR, the third-party services may not follow the same rules, leading to potential gaps in privacy protection and making it harder to ensure that personal data remains secure.

https://www.wired.com/story/whatsapp-interoperability-messaging/
https://www.newsweek.com/telegram-tucker-carlson-government-spying-1891398








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Improve on the potential solutions section to make it more specific to the problems discussed in the report. It should be in prose form, and address specific issues mentioned, and include in relevant examples to justify the solutions. It should also be as detailed as possible.