Meredith WhittakerOct 9

We're so relieved to see Germany reaffirm its opposition to the dangerous Chat Control proposal--the one that would mandate mass scanning of communications.

Germany's long been a solid champion of privacy, and the news that it was considering backing mass surveillance was alarming. 1/

Show threadMeredith WhittakerOct 9

Defending privacy isn't easy. Those in power always want more access +more info. It's especially hard when emotionally charged args are used to advance surveillance

❤️ to those doing the work!

https://social.bau-ha.us/@CCC
https://d-64.social/@d64eV
https://mastodon.social/@chatcontrol
And many others <3 2/

CCC (@[email protected])

5.02K Posts, 415 Following, 48K Followers · https://www.ccc.de/

[email protected]
Show threadMeredith WhittakerOct 9
The war is not over, however. Now we move to the European Council, where the issue is unresolved. We expect closed-door negotiations to engage in rhetorical arbitrage--claiming to support privacy by using word games and bespoke definitions--while in practice undermining it. Tedious and dangerous 3/
Show threadMeredith WhittakerOct 9
We must be wary of "new" proposals that allow scanning of "known content" while claiming to protect privacy by proscribing "indiscriminate" surveillance. We must also look out for those that mandate only scanning for “hashed images or videos.” 4/
Show threadMeredith WhittakerOct 9
The reality is that scanning any content before it is encrypted negates the very purpose of encryption and is a dangerous backdoor. No amount of tinkering or word games can change that inescapable reality. 5/
Nikita AbdullinOct 9
Show threadMeredith Whittaker
The technical consensus is clear: you can't create a backdoor that only lets the "good guys" in. However they're dressed up, these proposals create cybersecurity loopholes that hackers and hostile nations are eagerly waiting to exploit. 6/
Oct 9 at 11:43amWeb
Show threadMeredith WhittakerOct 9

So we remain vigilant & deeply grateful to our allies.

For Signal, Chat Control is an existential threat. If we were *forced* to choose between building surveillance into our services or keeping our integrity, we would choose integrity & leave the market. We hope it never comes to this. 7/

Show threadJulian Del Vecchio Oct 9

@Mer__edith We remain vigilant too because Signal is a software that @ufficiozero delivers on their mirrors with many others like @session

@BoostMediaAPS and @ufficiozero are fighting chat control with their messages to users also in Italy 💪

Show threadThe Sleight Doctor 🃏🍉Oct 9
@Mer__edith Thank you for remaining vigilant, and for fighting on everyone's behalf to keep us all safe from prying eyes. 🙏
Show threadChewieOct 9
@Mer__edith ❤️
Show threadSignor Q. 🦩Oct 9
@Mer__edith Hi, at the press conference about this topic the other day, the German gov’t speaker clearly said, „it‘s not about „controlling chats“ it‘s about child abuse/offenders and they will accompany this topic.“
However what accompany do mean in this context.
Hard to tell if it‘s off the table.
Show threadPeter VollebregtOct 9
@electricfusionQ If they really want to do this, then start harassing all those bad servers in The Netherlands.
Show threadSignor Q. 🦩Oct 9
@pvollebr just guessing but it seems to me that there a lot of servers w/ this crap in NL?
Show threadPeter VollebregtOct 9
@electricfusionQ There are. We have good connections with the world and some real assholes (besides Wilders).
Show threadSignor Q. 🦩Oct 9
@pvollebr ok, sad to hear.
Show threadBucciaOct 9
@Mer__edith Leaving the market isn’t much better than backdooring the app. You should rather treat EU as other authoritarian countries where you enable circumvention based on phone number country and encourage use of Signal proxies.
Show threadPatrick LeavyOct 9

@Mer__edith in the negotiations do you suggest to them alternative ways that police and security forces could catch bad actors using encrypted services?

I.e. trying harder with investigative work.

If big tech can track us everywhere and predict our behaviour using metadata, why can't the authorities do the same?

Show threadAral BalkanOct 13
@patrickleavy @Mer__edith They already know. This isn’t about “catching the bad guys” – community policing catches the bad guys – this is about exercising authoritarian control – something that’s increasingly important for governments as it becomes harder for them to maintain the façade of democracy while supporting trillion-dollar corporations, billionaires, and habitat collapse.
Show threadPatrick LeavyOct 13

@aral @Mer__edith

a ha! I knew it!

*pulls off the Scooby Do villain's mask*

It was the #BillionaireMindVirus all the time!

Show threadEm Oct 9
@Mer__edith  💙
Show threadPino CarafaOct 10
@Mer__edith I am glad that Germany took the time to think really hard about this. I'm not a conspiracy theorist so my default position has to be that the Chat Control proposal was well intentioned. So it's important that countries such as Germany think long and hard about it so that when they then rightly come out against the idea, their argument is solid and well thought through. It was frustrating to have to wait so long but the obstacles against the idea are all the more solid as a result.
Show threadRodolpheOct 13
@Mer__edith Genuine question, how would you "leave the market"? Would you geoblock IP from EU countries?