Chat Contrtol legislation is a huge threat to privacy

[Kie]

Hello everyone. I've seen a lot of discussion on how the US and the UK are pushing for age verification online, and on why that's a huge threat to privacy. Which is why I'm surprised about how little I saw regarding the Chat Control legislation that might come into action in the EU. It's a way bigger threat in my opinion! This legislation would basically force providers to scan all private chats; yes, even the ones that today are protected by end-to-end encryption.
And don't be fooled: not being from the Eu won't mean you won't be affected. This would set an incredibly dangerous precedent that would have repercussions worldwide.

I cannot stress how bad of an idea this is. First off, this is obviously a massive breach of privacy. But on top of that, I don't think many people realize how bad breaking end-to-end encryption would be. Even in a perfect world where no government would abuse its authority, this bill would still create major cybersecurity vulnearbvilities. And we also don't live in that perfect world.

It's important we push back against legislations like these.
If you're from the EU, the website fightchatcontrol.eu has a wonderful step-by-step process to help yoy contact your rapresentatives at the EU parliament. Sending them an email takes only a couple of minutes, and the website provides a template for you to use and gets the emails of your representitives for you. Contact them and let them know why this legislation would be harmful. This is especially important if you're German, as Germany is currently undecided on the matter and their votes could make the difference.
If you're not from the EU, I recommend reading more about this and spreading the word. As I've said before, this is not getting as much coverage as it should, and not being from here doesn't guarantee you won't be affected. This article by Techradar and this Youtube video by Louis Rossman are great places to start getting informed on the matter.

I would love to read your opinions on this legislation, and encourage you to share articles and resources about it that you've found useful in this topic! 

[grubbyfox]

When you say "from the EU", do you mean countries in europe that go under the EU or do you mean in general Europe?  Because Norway isn't part of the EU, but is part of Europe obviously lol, but usually when I go to sites that are about EU matters, I cant do anything because we're not part of the EU itself, only the EEA

[Kie]

When you say "from the EU", do you mean countries in europe that go under the EU or do you mean in general Europe?  Because Norway isn't part of the EU, but is part of Europe obviously lol, but usually when I go to sites that are about EU matters, I cant do anything because we're not part of the EU itself, only the EEA

I mean stricly countries that are part of the European Union! Countries that are in Europe but outside of the EU should be "safe" for now (unless their local government decides to emulate what the EU is doing). 

[DiffydaDude]

Here are some other websites about chatcontrol

• https://chatcontrol.eu/
• https://nej.lodis.se/
• https://chat-kontrolle.eu/
• https://www.change.org/p/non-%C3%A0-la-surveillance-de-masse-stop-chat-control-et-la-fin-du-chiffrement
• https://stopchatcontrol.fr/
• https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-defend-our-privacy-vote-no-to-chat-control

Also good news, the UK agreed to drop its Apple encryption backdoor, so thats a good victory for us.
also as a certified net engineer, i can attest that breaking encryption would be terrible. its so important for so many things. If it wasn't for encryption, the internet would be so unsafe it wouldnt even be funny. This whole "its for the kids" thing needs to end right fucking now.

[grubbyfox]

I mean stricly countries that are part of the European Union! Countries that are in Europe but outside of the EU should be "safe" for now (unless their local government decides to emulate what the EU is doing). 

Oof, that's a relief...for now, lol. I really hope Norway stays completely out of it all, but I also sort of doubt it. We usually end up following certain EU regulations anyway 

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

yes, even the ones that today are protected by end-to-end encryption.

If you are using a commercial, closed-source software, you have to assume that it is insecure already. German police internally boasted about being able to crack WhatsApp around 4 years ago, and we know from the Snowden-Leak that US-companies can be obligated to give the services secretly access to systems and deliver them data - since they could basically enter any system back then, it would be naive to assume that they don't have full access on WhatsApp, Discord, etc.

Matrix, Mumble, and chats or E-Mails encrypted with GPG are (hopefully) secure, and will hopefully stay secure (and legal/possible to use) - if you value your privacy, they are your best bet.

[crazyroostereye]

If you are using a commercial, closed-source software, you have to assume that it is insecure already. German police internally boasted about being able to crack WhatsApp around 4 years ago, and we know from the Snowden-Leak that US-companies can be obligated to give the services secretly access to systems and deliver them data - since they could basically enter any system back then, it would be naive to assume that they don't have full access on WhatsApp, Discord, etc.

Matrix, Mumble, and chats or E-Mails encrypted with GPG are (hopefully) secure, and will hopefully stay secure (and legal/possible to use) - if you value your privacy, they are your best bet.

The Law would require all these Companies and Projects like Mumble or Matrix (or the people running Instances of it) to add a Backdoor for the Surveillance System. Meaning Backdooring all E2E (End-to-End Encrypted) Systems. Even if they are Open Source. This is one of the, if not the Biggest Threats to Private Digital Communication. Even worse I find of the Law is the Provision to exclude Politicians of this Requirement. Cause that's scummy and elitist to the highest degree. And the Politicians that added it should be shamed beyond believe, even if the Law doesn't pass. As this is the worst affront to Digital Liberties in EU and European history. Not even the Stasi (East Germans Secret Police notorious for its mass surveillance) could have dreamed of this Surveillance.