GETTY • WHATSAPP LOGO Banning WhatsApp has been ruled as "unlawful" according to EU law, marking a blow to Cameron's plans

Hugely popular messaging services including WhatsApp, SnapChat and iMessage were threatened with a UK ban earlier this month under strict new anti-encryption laws. But the plans have been deemed "inconsistent with EU law" – most notably Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which concerns an individual's right to privacy. However Home Secretary Theresa May has been granted permission to appeal the decision. WhatsApp, iMessage, SnapChat and other popular messaging services use end-to-end encryption to keep your texts and multimedia safe from prying eyes. Prime Minister David Cameron had hoped to outlaw this level of privacy to help law enforcement services track and monitor potential terrorist threats.

A number of technology companies, including Apple, have spoken out against the measures and refused to remove end-to-end encryption from their messaging services. CEO Tim Cook cautioned that Apple has "never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services ... and we never will." However there was doubt whether, should the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill – or 'Snooper's Charter' – come into effect, messaging services that refuse to comply would be banned in the UK. The news came just weeks after WhatsApp was named one of the worst apps for user privacy.

GETTY Theresa May has been granted permission to appeal the decision against the Snooper's Charter

Back in January, Mr Cameron said: "In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people which, even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the home secretary personally, that we cannot read? "Are we going to allow a means of communication where it simply isn't possible to do that? And my answer to that question is no we must not. "The first duty of any government is to keep our people and our country safe." MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip Boris Johnson spelled out the Conservative's intentions. "I'm not interested in this civil liberties stuff. If they're a threat, I want their emails and calls listened to," he said.

A staggering 49,079 readers voted against the changes proposed by the Investigatory Powers Bill, which proposed internet service providers, phone companies and technology firms like Google, Apple, Facebook and WhatsApp store a record of all of your online activity. This database of information – which would in theory include all your Google searches, your Facebook conversations and posts, WhatsApp group messages and SnapChat videos – could then be accessed by UK law enforcement agencies whenever deemed necessary. A meagre 12 per cent of those 55,772 readers surveyed agreed with Prime Minister Cameron's plans to intercept online communications.

WHATSAPP WhatsApp, like many other popular messaging apps, boasts end-to-end encryption for your texts

Express.co.uk argued for and against the Conservative Government's plans to increase its ability to monitor online messages. One Express.co.uk reader blasted the upcoming "Snooper's Charter" by posting: "10 years ago if you were to ask me to think of a place where your letters got read by the government, I would have said East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Funny how things worked out…" Another added: "The tories have been trying to pass this from the moment they got into government, and the Lib Dems were the only thing stopping them. "A law of this nature is a property of an oppressive, Orwellian regime, where ordinary citizens are treated as suspects. "Such a government is positioned AGAINST the people, not in favour of them."

GETTY Prime Minister Cameron was branded a "dictator" by a number of Express.co.uk readers

One Express.co.uk reader took issue with the argument that allowing law enforcement to access encrypted messages could help in the fight against terror.

If they're a threat, I want their emails and calls listened to Boris Johnson, London Mayor

"The stupidity of the government, to imagine that banning WhatApp will curb the communication capabilities of an ISIS or whoever else," the reader posted. "Those guys are very far ahead of us lesser mortals in their technology, & for sure will not use a WhatsApp message to order an execution or a bombing, they're not that stupid. "Mr. Cameron is doing is nothing but blatantly invade the personal privacy of millions of Britons. I mean what safeguards are being put in place to police the watchdogs?" Many of the comments also reflected on the impact of the Liberal Democrats during the coalition government. "Our freedoms are being destroyed one by one. The Lib Dems were ridiculous, but at least they blocked this awful charter," one Facebook user commented. However – not every Express.co.uk reader was against the anti-encryption measures within the Investigatory Powers Bill.

One posted: "Good. Do not be mistaken, the police access phone records and other social media records all the time at the request of the public because people are constantly reporting harassment, threats to kill, bullying and hate crime via social media. "In order to investigate those reports the records have to be accessed. "No-one complains about the intrusion when it's in their own benefit. "I am perfectly happy for Whats App etc to be banned in the interests of actually saving peoples lives. "As if people are so dumb that they won't give up their little techno-fetishes in order to help stop people dying."