maniacalmanicmaniaJul 29, 2025

Signal boss warns app will exit Australia if forced to hand over users’ encrypted messages

https://aussie.zone/post/23147226

Signal boss warns app will exit Australia if forced to hand over users’ encrypted messages - Aussie Zone

>Signal president Meredith Whittaker is prepared to withdraw the privacy-focused messaging app from Australia — saying she hopes it doesn’t become a “gangrenous foot” by poisoning its entire platform by forcing it to hand over its users’ encrypted data to authorities. > >Ms Whittaker says Signal would take the “drastic step” of leaving any market where a government compelled it to create a “backdoor” to access its data, saying it would create a vulnerability that hackers and authoritative regimes could exploit, undermining Signals’ “reason for existing”. > >Pressure has been mounting on Signal and other secure messaging platforms. ASIO director general Mike Burgess has urged tech companies [https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/security-chiefs-to-target-technology-giants/news-story/7e0cd797e52cc3399d0f304b3605c293] to unlock encrypted messages to assist terrorism and national security investigations, saying offshore extremists use such platforms to communicate. archive.today [https://archive.md/a2K1u]

Show threadnaught101Jul 29, 2025
Well that would be incredibly fucked.
Show threadshadsJul 29, 2025
Yes it would be, let’s hope more companies follow that example. The more companies that make it clear that Australian politics are never an excuse for compromising the privacy and safety of their users the more hope there is that the message will start to get through. Plus we could serve as a salutory warning for the rest of the world… “Wow go down the path of driving whole market segments out of your economy has bad effects on that same economy.”
Show threadnaught101Jul 29, 2025
I can totally see Australian politics being OK with signal leaving, since that would push users on to other less secure/more compliant apps
Show threadshadsJul 29, 2025
You might be right, but its going to get harder for them to crow about the wins ASIO is making when competent people are spinning up more bespoke solutions they have even less hope of compromising. Plus when people go down the current path that the UK populace is what are ASIO going to claim next, VPNs have to be banned. You know Australia lacks the technical competence to implement that correctly, suddenly every business is having their workflow broken to appease a bunch of “intelligence” wonks. The further they over reach the more likely they will trip themselves up.
Show threadmaniacalmanicmania
I think that the number of folks who will run bespoke solutions will be so small that it’ll be insignificant. Signals benefit is its ease of onboarding. If Signal leaves ASIO knows there’s nothing else out there for 99% of it’s users.
Jul 29, 2025 at 11:24pmWeb
Show threadshadsJul 30, 2025

With the irony being I am sure I read an article a few months back about the rise in small scale private encrypted chat applications that some groups are spinning up because they don’t trust things like signal.

I concede the point, maybe I am a bit blindsided by the level of knowledge I can bring to bear on this as I wouldn’t find it at all difficult to spin something up.

I mean how trivial would it be to insert encrypted packets using a one time pad into meme images, half the conversations between my wife and I would look suspicious under those circumstances, a straightforward sequence of pre shared DSA pairs and the odds of ASIO being able to break it are miniscule.

Show threadmaniacalmanicmaniaJul 30, 2025
If you remember the article please share.
Show threadshadsJul 30, 2025
I can 100% commit to that, but I would suggest that its likely white unlikely. I have a feeling it was offline on actual dead tree somewhere.
Show threadInsane_TurnipJul 30, 2025

the number of folks who will run bespoke solutions will be so small that it’ll be insignificant

For the vast majority of people, you are right. But for the very few malignant actors, that is the thing they’ll do. It will make ASIO’s job harder as they’re now trying to trace foreign VPN’s, custom-made encryption programs and other stuff that I personally don’t know about (I’m not overly knowledgeable about such computer things).

The >99% of Signal users forced into the sunlight aren’t the threat. It’s the <1% of Signal users who ‘go underground’ that are the threat.

Show threadquokkaJul 30, 2025
Personally, I’ll spin up a Mastodon (or similar) instance for my kid and his mates.
Show threadNo1Jul 30, 2025
“Sir, we have identified a potential terrorist cell. Or a paedophile ring. Which week is it again?”