Britain's Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan walks on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. Junior minister Stephen Parkinson appeared to concede ground to the tech companies' arguments on Wednesday, saying in parliament's upper chamber that the Ofcom communications regulator would only require them to scan content where "technically feasible". Tech companies have said scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible. Donelan, however, denied on Thursday that the bill had been watered down in the final stages before it becomes law. She said further work to develop the technology was needed, but added that government-funded research had shown it was possible.

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Persons: Technology Michelle Donelan, Peter Nicholls, Michelle Donelan, Stephen Parkinson, Paul Sandle, Helen Popper Our Organizations: State for Science, Innovation, Technology, REUTERS, Junior, Ofcom, Tech, Times Radio, Thomson Locations: London, Britain