Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, Meredith Whittaker, the president of the Signal Foundation, which maintains the nonprofit Signal messaging app, reaffirmed that Signal would leave the U.K. if the country’s recently passed Online Safety Bill forced Signal to build “backdoors” into its end-to-end encryption.
“We would leave the U.K. or any jurisdiction if it came down to the choice between backdooring our encryption and betraying the people who count on us for privacy, or leaving,” Whittaker said. “And that’s never not true.”
The Online Safety Bill, which was passed into law in September, includes a clause — clause 122 — that, depending on how it’s interpreted, could allow the U.K.’s communications regulator, Ofcom, to break the encryption of apps and services under the guise of making sure illegal material such as child sexual exploitation and abuse content is removed.
"Child sexual exploitation". Oooooh kaaaaay. No doubt the UK.Gov is very concerned indeed at getting access to Prince Andrew's communications with Jeffery Epstein. Or something.
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7 comments:
Well considering that the pakistannie rape and child trafficking gangs aren't being prosecuted even though there is ample evidence to do so... that kinda tells the story doesn't it? Kiddie diddling Royals are the least of their concerns at this point.
I have a couple of questions for you, BP:
A. I wonder - sure they SAY they'll protect their client's privacy... but how will average laymen like me ever know if they decide to fink on that?
B. We live in an age of a politically weaponized judiciary and law enforcement. Hypothetically speaking - if I as a corrupt leftist kleptocrat decide that you are a problem that needs to be dealt with - I don't NEED to run lengthy expensive surveillance campaigns on you - I can just have my goons in law enforcement fabricate evidence against you, and my pals in the judiciary sentence you accordingly. Hell's bells, in America they no longer have to do any of that - they'll just redefine the language and letter of the law and off you go - no questions asked. They are doing it in broad daylight now.
I'm beginning to think the Patriot has far bigger problems on his plate than mere privacy invasion.
If there's a back door, it isn't encryption.
That's as stupid as government asking you to leave them a spare key to your house, so they can make sure there's nothing illegal inside.
you know, a lot of what was written decades ago in Cryptonomicon is coming true these days.
While they ignore the child grooming by the middle easterners in their own country... sigh...
What will keep gangs from writing their own software/ apps that don't have a backdoor?
I'm surprised I haven't heard of it already, but then I don't keep up with that scene...
I read a novel over 20 years ago with a gang using a computerized one time pad - they can mandate whatever they want, but just like with gun control it will only hurt those who are law abiding.
Jonathan
Leave Britain and go where? The US is no better. Most countries are opposed to any electronic encryption they can't control, defeat or sidestep.
If one is smart, one never buys software from any company headquartered in any of the Fourteen Eyes countries.
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