[HN Gopher] EU Chatcontrol 2.0 [video]
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       EU Chatcontrol 2.0 [video]
        
       Author : nix23
       Score  : 366 points
       Date   : 2021-11-01 14:21 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (peertube.european-pirates.eu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (peertube.european-pirates.eu)
        
       | luciusdomitius wrote:
       | This is really interesting coming from the Pirate Party. While I
       | remember them for the protests against ACTA some 12 years ago,
       | their biggest success - the Czech Pirate party is extremely pro-
       | Brussels and has hardly breathed a word against it.
       | 
       | Otherwise, my opinion is that this would be either impossible to
       | enforce or the cost to do so would outweigh the benefits in a
       | massive way.
        
         | emteycz wrote:
         | The Czech pirate party was built on internal democracy without
         | any failsafety and got swathed by hundreds (thousands today) of
         | leftists/statists indifferent to the original ideas.
         | 
         | Basically none of their voting base (young adults, mostly) has
         | any idea about the origin of the party. They were lured to the
         | party because it supports green and social statist politics.
         | 
         | Note: I don't think statism in itself is wrong, but I don't
         | like the particular kind of state they're pushing for. I think
         | their goals could be accomplished by supporting people more
         | directly e. g. by supporting independent social organizations,
         | which I think would be more in line with the original pirate
         | ideas.
         | 
         | However I must say that their latest program (for the
         | parliamentary elections) was acceptable to me. But they're
         | nearly (4/200) out of the parliament now.
        
           | petre wrote:
           | My problem with the Pirate Party is that they are part of the
           | Greens group = anti nuclear activists, let alone not being
           | represented at all in my country. I'd probably vote for them
           | even ignoring this, because at least if feels like choosing
           | the lesser of several evils. Voting is like choosing between
           | the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
        
             | emteycz wrote:
             | Thankfully that's not shared by the Czech pirate party.
             | They're pro-nuclear here. However, nearly everyone is pro-
             | nuclear here.
             | 
             | I think the Czech nuclear program is successful mostly
             | thanks to Dana Drabova. Other countries need to find
             | someone like her.
        
               | dane-pgp wrote:
               | A technology which requires exceptional people for it to
               | be managed successfully should not be a technology that
               | puts centuries-long commitments on society.
        
               | emteycz wrote:
               | I strongly disagree. The specialists exist and the
               | benefit is too large to be ignored.
        
               | effie wrote:
               | Why not, we will always have exceptional people. I don't
               | get this lack of ambition.
        
             | sputr wrote:
             | Most Pirate Parties are pro-nuclear. But they are part of
             | the Green group because it's the closes match you'll get.
             | 
             | They would like to form their own group, but they don't
             | have enough pirates elected from enough countries yet to
             | qualify. So they're stuck with going with the best option.
             | 
             | Besides, as long as greens and pirates share the same goal
             | ... the'll work out the rest. This way the greens may move
             | away from the anti nuclear stance quicker.
        
           | kebman wrote:
           | A friend of mine was the leader of the Norwegian Pirate
           | Party. He proposed a new way to organize society in a
           | decentralized, professionalized, yet accountable way. His
           | main issue was that politicians would promise a bunch of
           | nonsense, and then get voted in based upon those promises,
           | but after the fact they would never do anything about it.
           | Even after breaking all the promises, most politicians never
           | have to answer for lying or not accomplishing what got them
           | into a position in the first place. One of the concrete tools
           | he alluded to when speaking about these flaws was the
           | FixMyStreet app and website.
        
             | TulliusCicero wrote:
             | While this is true, some of it is because voters are
             | ignorant and prefer politicians who lie to them. Oh sure,
             | they'll _say_ they want honest politicians, but then the
             | ones who promise them the moon are the ones they 'll
             | actually vote for. Someone telling them, "sorry but your
             | policy idea is hideously impractical and would be extremely
             | expensive for little benefit" won't get their vote, even if
             | it's true.
        
               | kebman wrote:
               | I think it's a bit more complex than that. I'm sure most
               | voters have a real hope that their politician is actually
               | speaking the truth. And sometimes the politician is even
               | honest about wanting to make it happen. But then comes
               | the intricacies of parliamentary constellations,
               | horsetrading, lobbyism, and filibustering, and so forth.
        
           | PontifexMinimus wrote:
           | > But they're nearly (4/200) out of the parliament now.
           | 
           | According to Wikipedia, the Pirates and Mayors group got
           | 15.6% of the vote at the last election last month and has 37
           | seats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Czech_legislative_e
           | lectio...
           | 
           | Is that not correct?
        
             | emteycz wrote:
             | Yes. But 33 seats are gained by the other party due to
             | mechanism known as circling, which allows voters to give up
             | to four preferential votes to specific candidates. The
             | Majors Party is based around this "circling". For example,
             | candidates from 10th place were voted in - in regions with
             | 3/4/5 seats.
             | 
             | The coalition agreement aimed to resolve this issue but
             | failed.
        
         | bojan wrote:
         | > the Czech Pirate party is extremely pro-Brussels and has
         | hardly breathed a word against it.
         | 
         | I find "pro-" or "anti-" Brussels to be a false dichotomy. You
         | can be _for_ the existence of the EU, but be critical of how it
         | works, of the proposals coming from one of its institutions,
         | and actively participate in improving the organisation.
         | 
         | Which is exactly what this MEP is doing.
        
           | raverbashing wrote:
           | Of course, and might I add, this is how institutions should
           | work.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | m4rtink wrote:
         | >This is really interesting coming from the Pirate Party. While
         | I remember them for the protests against ACTA some 12 years
         | ago, their biggest success - the Czech Pirate party is
         | extremely pro-Brussels and has hardly breathed a word against
         | it.
         | 
         | Well, Marcel Kolaja, who was voted from the Czech Pirate Party
         | to the european parliament certainly comments on these things -
         | like on an earlier round for this in July:
         | 
         | https://european-pirateparty.eu/parliament-approves-chatcont...
         | 
         | He is in generally pretty active also in other important topics
         | such as content filters or gatekeepers and other stuff:
         | 
         | https://european-pirateparty.eu/tag/marcel-kolaja/
         | 
         | As for the Pirate Party being "pro Brussels" it rather seem to
         | to that they are ready to get involved in EU matters & possibly
         | improve things.
         | 
         | Other parties anti-EU rhetoric is often not very constructive
         | and populist, especially if the EU calls then on their shady
         | deals.
        
         | FerretFred wrote:
         | I agree with your opinion, but we're talking the EU here ..
         | cost and red tape will not be an issue, so it'll happen.
        
       | raverbashing wrote:
       | The issue is important and needs to be discussed (both sides -
       | which doesn't mean solving it at the 'chat level' is the right
       | answer, of course). And I'm glad the Pirates "get" the internet.
       | But the fud is getting old
       | 
       | Realistically, targeted chat grooming on a major platform does
       | end with responsibility over the platform. If the system is BS
       | then it should be trivial to get the chat of any of the
       | politicians involved in approving this. But from the past
       | proposals, it doesn't look like that is "too trivial".
       | 
       | While technical folks think the tech world is untouchable by laws
       | the legislative folks think everything is "perfectly" amenable to
       | legislation and of course they're both wrong and the truth lies
       | somewhere in the middle.
       | 
       | The most likely end result is that messaging for minors might
       | have the monitoring (but remember Google, FB, etc already do this
       | in a way). And of course even if it passes this is amenable to
       | ECJ appeals, etc.
        
       | tytrdev wrote:
       | 1. GDPR
       | 
       | 2. Intercept and scan all civilian communication
       | 
       | 3. ???
       | 
       | 4. Yellowstone explodes
        
       | intricatedetail wrote:
       | I remember talking about such scenario like decade ago and people
       | were telling me I am a conspiracy theorist and the EU would never
       | do something like this as it breaches human rights. I guess it's
       | too late now. Too much money and powerful people involved.
        
         | AnssiH wrote:
         | EU has still not done it (yet, anyway). This is not an actual
         | legislative proposal of any kind.
        
       | marcodiego wrote:
       | The fact that the video is posted using peertube gives me a
       | breath of hope.
       | 
       | Considering how it is currently not very popular, I don't have
       | high hopes that this video will last longer than it could be had
       | it been posted on youtube. Nevertheless, this is a step in the
       | right direction.
        
       | dang wrote:
       | Related from a few months ago:
       | 
       |  _Messaging and chat control_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28115343 - Aug 2021 (317
       | comments)
       | 
       | via pvg, prof-dr-ir (thanks!):
       | 
       |  _EU Parliament approves mass surveillance of private
       | communications_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27759814 -
       | July 2021 (11 comments)
       | 
       |  _European Parliament approves mass surveillance of private
       | communication_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27753727 -
       | July 2021 (415 comments)
       | 
       |  _Indiscriminate messaging and chatcontrol: Last chance to
       | protest_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27736435 - July
       | 2021 (104 comments)
       | 
       |  _IT companies warn in open letter: EU wants to ban encryption_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26825653 - April 2021 (217
       | comments)
       | 
       | Others?
        
         | pvg wrote:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27759814
         | 
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27753727
         | 
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27736435
        
         | prof-dr-ir wrote:
         | _IT companies warn in open letter: EU wants to ban encryption_
         | - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26825653 - April 2021
         | (217 comments)
        
       | no_time wrote:
       | Is it really a democracy if you keep pushing the same legislation
       | over and over again until the people sleep on it once?
        
         | sputr wrote:
         | Yes, yes it is.
         | 
         | The problem is, that we (as in, "not the rich and powerful")
         | are not playing the game of democracy correctly.
         | 
         | Protesting to stop a bill passing is the "you f-ed up, so
         | you're panicking, and maybe you'll stop it" move. If it keeps
         | happening, it just means you did not learn your lesson.
         | 
         | What you should have been doing is actively fighting to set
         | rules the way you want them. Both by electing the right people
         | and, more importantly, actually, funding lobbying efforts.
        
           | avgcorrection wrote:
           | Democracy is when the people in general have power. Not when
           | they are allowed (perhaps, begrudgingly) to demonstrate with
           | placards outside of the buildings that house/employ people
           | with power.
           | 
           | Cite any reputable social science that says that democracy is
           | an actual thing implemented in liberal democracies. Then we
           | can take it from there.
           | 
           | > actually, funding lobbying efforts.
           | 
           | Billionaires and multi-millionaires will outspend your
           | gofundme lobbying. It's simple economics.
        
             | sputr wrote:
             | No, that's not what democracy is. That's what you want it
             | to be.
             | 
             | And no, the rich can't outspend the population, if the
             | population realized what's happening.
             | 
             | Not only is 10USD/EUR per month times the entire population
             | just an incredible amount of money ... it's way more
             | effective.
             | 
             | Most damage from lobby happens because corporate lobbyist
             | are the only ones there. Just one publicly funded lobbyist
             | there to remind the decisions makers of what is right and
             | prevent their ability to rationalize would make an
             | incredible difference.
             | 
             | But you need to pay that person.
        
           | chupy wrote:
           | _What you should have been doing is actively fighting to set
           | rules the way you want them.Both by electing the right people
           | and, more importantly, actually, funding lobbying efforts._
           | 
           | Maybe we should actively fight against the existence of lobby
           | groups. The lobby groups in most cases push for legislation
           | that is good for them (companies) and not for the people.
        
             | sputr wrote:
             | I hear what you are saying, but sadly that's like fighting
             | against democracy. Lobbying is a natural party of a
             | democratic system, just like political parties. You can try
             | and outlaw it, but you'll only make the problem way worse.
             | 
             | And it's not inherently a problem. It's not even slanted
             | against the interests of the population. The only reason we
             | have a problem is because "the rich and powerful"
             | understand that this is how democracy works and everyone
             | else ... wishes it was different.
             | 
             | The solution to just about all our problems is simple: stop
             | wanting democracy to be something it isn't and start
             | "using" it correctly - namely, realize that to HAVE power
             | you need to SPEND money. And no, taxes ain't it.
             | 
             | The great thing is that "the people's" money is way more
             | effective (i.e. it's more expansive to get politicians to
             | do immoral acts than it is for them to do moral acts).
             | Plus, we have more of it (10EUR/USD per month times the
             | entire population is ... a lot of money).
             | 
             | We just have to start.
        
           | A_non_e-moose wrote:
           | How do we, the "not the rich and powerful" fund lobbying
           | efforts, considering current competitors?
        
         | wolverine876 wrote:
         | Elect someone else
        
           | no_time wrote:
           | Not so simple since you only have one vote and politicians
           | have thousands of choices to make during their time in
           | office.
           | 
           | I strongly oppose domestic spying laws like this, AND I
           | oppose uneducated immigration too. There is no party that
           | shares both of these views.
           | 
           | In other words the current system will always boil down to
           | choosing between bad options that will screw you over some
           | way or another. I wish there was an alternative...
        
             | wolverine876 wrote:
             | 320 million other people deserve an equal say, so probably
             | you won't - and shouldn't - get exactly what you want (nor
             | should I).
             | 
             | I don't like uneducated voters.
        
             | JumpCrisscross wrote:
             | > _I strongly oppose domestic spying laws like this, AND I
             | oppose uneducated immigration too. There is no party that
             | shares both of these views._
             | 
             | Democracy requires compromise. There will never be a party
             | that perfectly matches your views. You prioritize the ones
             | you care about, find common ground and help those who will
             | advance your interests.
        
             | A_non_e-moose wrote:
             | Direct democracy a la Switzerland where issues are put up
             | for vote for the entire population?
             | 
             | Although for direct democracy to be effective you would
             | need a highly educated and politically engaged population
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | Judging by how low the vaccination rate is for rich and
               | developed Switzerland in comparison to poorer countries
               | like Spain or Portugal, I stopped assuming that most of
               | the population there is "highly educated" as you put it.
               | No offense to the Swiss.
               | 
               | Maybe some Swiss can clarify why their population is so
               | anti-vax, as it boggles my mind.
               | 
               | My point is not to say that such a direct democratic
               | system wouldn't be effective, I'm just saying that
               | correlation != causation, as in the case of Switzerland,
               | I attribute its success as a country more to it being a
               | neutral banking heaven for the world elite for decades
               | and being in a very fortunate geo-political location that
               | was spared the destruction of war which helped it attract
               | tons of foreign talent and capital, rather than to its
               | direct democratic system and domestic educated
               | population. I could also be wrong of course.
        
               | spidersouris wrote:
               | Switzerland has 64% of its population vaccinated [1].
               | It's not that low compared to other Western countries.
               | It's as much as the United States [2]. What makes you say
               | that?
               | 
               | [1] https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-
               | tracker-and-m...
               | 
               | [2] https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-
               | tracker-and-m...
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | And where did I mention the US?
               | 
               | Portugal is almost 100% vaccinated, Switzerland is at 64%
               | which puts it closer to the former comunist EU members
               | like Slovakia.
               | 
               | That's a massive difference, and to me, says something
               | about the country's population/society.
        
               | mmdoda wrote:
               | I'm sorry but you are spreading misinformation. The Swiss
               | are not anti-vax in general and they are not against the
               | Covid vaccine. Switzerland is 63.7% vaccinated.
               | 
               | In any case not getting the vaccine doesn't make someone
               | uneducated. Switzerland has some of the best schools and
               | universities in the world. In 2018, 44% of 25-64 year-
               | olds had completed a tertiary qualification in
               | Switzerland, compared to 39% on average across OECD
               | countries. [1]
               | 
               | [1] https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-
               | glance/EAG2019...
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | _> I'm sorry but you are spreading misinformation._
               | 
               | Which misinformation did I spread?
               | 
               |  _> Switzerland is 63.7% vaccinated._
               | 
               | Which I said I find it to be very low in comparison to
               | countries like Spain and Portugal where the rate is
               | nearly 100% so having only 64% points to a large number
               | of anti-vaxers similar to Eastern Europe.
               | 
               |  _> In any case not getting the vaccine doesn't make
               | someone uneducated._
               | 
               | No? Then what does it make the other 36% who refuse to
               | get vaccinated? En-masse refusal of a potentially life
               | saving vaccine that will help end the pandemic doesn't
               | really scream intelligence and education, does it?
        
               | monkeywork wrote:
               | creating your own definitions or metrics as to what would
               | qualify someone as educated isn't helpful in a
               | discussion.
               | 
               | you are also making assumptions that those who aren't yet
               | vaccinated are anti-vax, which again isn't always the
               | case they may have their own reasons for delaying or
               | perhaps are perfectly fine with vaccines in general but
               | distrust this particular one for whatever reason.
               | 
               | A person can be educated person can still be an
               | unreasonable one.
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | _> they may have their own reasons for delaying or
               | perhaps are perfectly fine with vaccines in general but
               | distrust this particular one for whatever reason._
               | 
               | So what does the swiss population know that the
               | scientific and medical communities don't?
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | no_time wrote:
               | Yes something like that. I don't have high hopes of that
               | ever happening here (Hungary) though
        
           | squarefoot wrote:
           | Sometimes it's too late. The best dictator in the western
           | world isn't the one who sends the army down the streets to
           | shoot protesters, but the one who controls information so
           | that people after years of being dazed by the same propaganda
           | will vote him in power without any coercion. Sadly bad rulers
           | sometimes have more resources than good ones, which turns out
           | in more online/tv/radio/newspaper presence used to spread
           | their propaganda.
           | 
           | If we could force somehow politicians to count on the same
           | exact public exposure, from rallies to apparently trivial
           | things such as tweets, that would possibly change something,
           | but to me a similar scenario in this universe is near science
           | fiction.
        
           | Abfrage wrote:
           | The election to the EU Parliament is a farce. The parliament
           | has no power. It cannot propose laws. It only votes on the
           | laws of the Commission. In the last election, the people
           | could elect the President of the Commission. The person
           | elected did not get the office. They simply put von der Leyen
           | in that position while she was investigated in the German
           | parliament.
        
             | wolverine876 wrote:
             | Having done a lot of work in politics, I see the same
             | things frequently: how easy it is for even a few people to
             | accomplish things with a little effort (and that's with a
             | level of organization and management that is shockingly low
             | - as in, if you have competent business skills, you'll walk
             | in and think 'this can't possibly be as bad as it looks'),
             | and then on the outside there are a lot of people calling
             | it a 'farce', saying it's hopeless, etc. etc. It's just
             | kind of silly, like people telling me heavier-than-air
             | flight is impossible. OK, if that's what you obviously want
             | to think.
             | 
             | It's like the naysayers for anything, such as startups. 'It
             | doesn't work', 'it can't be done', 'nobody will _let_ you
             | ', blah blah blah. And all the time you are doing it. What
             | can you say to them?
        
             | pas wrote:
             | The power to veto is not a farce.
        
               | blibble wrote:
               | it is because the commission just has to bide its time
               | 
               | once the law is passed future parliaments can't modify or
               | repeal it
        
               | pas wrote:
               | it doesn't depend on time. the parliament can reject it
               | every single time without it ever getting tired.
               | 
               | and since the MEPs represent the same people who elect
               | governments who then delegate to the commission, it's
               | strange if the commission continues to propose
               | regulations that are unpopular.
        
               | blibble wrote:
               | you're thinking on a sub 5 year scale
               | 
               | the commission can wait for a parliament that will pass
               | its legislation
               | 
               | and once it's passed: that's it, future parliaments can
               | do nothing about it
               | 
               | and if a member state wants it gone: it has to leave the
               | EU entirely
               | 
               | and politically the commission is the same as it has
               | always been (by design)
        
               | pas wrote:
               | the commission does what the member states want.
               | obviously it has its own agency in the matters, but
               | members don't send someone who would totally disregard
               | their wishes.
               | 
               | the whole problem with these security-privacy ideas is
               | that the member governments want to reign in the
               | Internet, just as they did with every other phenomena for
               | the past hundreds of years. (with varying degrees of
               | "success".)
               | 
               | CSAM is especially a big red cloth that catches the eye
               | of governments. It's not like there was less child abuse
               | before the Internet, and if there were absolutely no CSAM
               | on it from tomorrow ther wouldn't be less actual abuse...
               | :/
        
             | tsimionescu wrote:
             | > In the last election, the people could elect the
             | President of the Commission.
             | 
             | What are you basing this on? The President of the
             | Commission is, by law, proposed by the European Council and
             | validated or not by the European Parliament. Since there
             | was no single majority party after the election, it's not
             | completely surprising that backroom deals led to a
             | different president than the desire of the party holding
             | the most seats.
        
               | 66fm472tjy7 wrote:
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_C
               | omm...
               | 
               | > The Spitzenkandidat of the largest party would then
               | have a mandate to assume the Commission Presidency
               | 
               | While this is not de jure, German-speaking media did
               | report on the 2019 election as if the above were
               | consensus. It is my understanding that this was not the
               | case in all EU countries.
        
       | pimterry wrote:
       | I agree the future proposed here would be totalitarian, but it's
       | important to be clear that today *this is not currently a
       | legislative proposal in the EU*.
       | 
       | It's not been proposed, it's not being voted on, and it's not
       | coming into force any time soon.
       | 
       | There are two things that have been proposed:
       | 
       | 1. Adding a temporary exemption ('derogation') within privacy
       | regulations to ensure online service providers can scan user data
       | for CSAM _if the provider so chooses_ without being in breach of
       | GDPR. In the US and elsewhere, providers who wish to do were
       | already doing this. This just provides a quick fix to avoid GDPR
       | from shutting down existing service provider 's own child
       | protection programs. More details:
       | https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-promo...
       | 
       | 2. Asking the EU Commission to investigate and analyze possible
       | proposals for longer-term legislative solutions to this issue, by
       | defining more clearly what service providers options and
       | obligations are with regard to CSAM, and proposing various other
       | ways the EU could protect children from abuse offline & online.
       | 
       | The EU's summary of the overall process is at
       | https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/internal-security...
       | (even more detail here: https://ec.europa.eu/home-
       | affairs/system/files/2020-07/20200...). The details of the
       | derogation regulations are at
       | https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-promo...,
       | and there's more detail on the commission's ongoing analysis to
       | eventually define proposals here:
       | https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-sa...
       | 
       | One _possibility_ is that the commission could propose
       | legislation mandating scanning of all messages and AI to
       | automatically search for grooming. Some parts of that legislative
       | option are mentioned as ideas to be considered (see the
       | "Inception impact assessment" PDF in the commissions analysis)
       | alongside various other options. There's nothing suggesting that
       | this is the leading option though. That PDF also makes detailed
       | note of privacy concerns as topics to consider too, and the
       | resulting public consultation on that specific assessment
       | received a huge amount of feedback against such measures.
       | 
       | So far, there is no proposed legislation like what's described in
       | this video. If there were, it's likely that there would be major
       | public outcry, and there is no indication that it would pass.
       | 
       | It's possible the commission could propose this, but it's also
       | very plausible that the commission proposes some other framework
       | of obligations, which makes it clear when and how online services
       | must scan for CSAM, without mandating searching of all private
       | communications. For example, mandating CSAM scanning of publicly
       | accessible content online, and mandating that private message
       | providers include "report this message" tools to allow users to
       | report otherwise inaccessible content by themselves.
       | 
       | Of course, there is always the possibility that the EU could veer
       | away from privacy protections into being a totalitarian state,
       | sure, but nobody is currently proposing legislation along those
       | lines. There's a wide spectrum of reasonable possibilities on the
       | table here that would be genuine improvements. There's no need to
       | panic about the imminent death of privacy quite yet.
        
         | prof-dr-ir wrote:
         | Thank you for this clarification. This topic has been
         | previously discussed on HN and sadly the top comments seem to
         | always result in poorly informed pitchfork parties against the
         | EU and its institutions.
         | 
         | I would urge people to read the linked texts in your comment. I
         | think they will see that it is entirely possible to follow the
         | (imperfect) thought process of the EU Commission from these
         | primary sources, since they are quite readable.
        
         | stinos wrote:
         | _So far, there is no proposed legislation like what 's
         | described in this video._
         | 
         | Any idea why the Breyer makes it sound like this is something
         | which is coming though? Or why he's even talking about it?
        
         | Aerroon wrote:
         | > _Of course, there is always the possibility that the EU could
         | veer away from privacy protections into being a totalitarian
         | state, sure, but nobody is currently proposing legislation
         | along those lines._
         | 
         | 15 years ago the EU made this into law:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Retention_Directive
         | 
         | This _eventually_ didn 't hold up in court, but it pretty much
         | shows where the Union has been on the privacy scale right from
         | the start when it comes to governments doing the snooping.
        
       | skratlo wrote:
       | Does anyone know WHO is actually pushing this? Who is behind
       | this? Who initially proposed it, and who is lobbying for it?
       | Gimme names, c'mon
        
         | raverbashing wrote:
         | Ashton Kutcher. Yes, I'm serious.
        
         | AnssiH wrote:
         | See the Feedback section on the initiative
         | (https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-
         | sa...) for various comments from various
         | organizations/companies, pushing for various things.
         | 
         | As far as I can tell, no EU organ has actually published any
         | actual proposal or recommendation to introduce such mandatory
         | screening as described in the OP.
         | 
         | My guess is that the actual proposal, when it comes, will not
         | include industrywide mandatory screening or breaking end-to-end
         | encryption.
        
           | mod50ack wrote:
           | These wr going to actually be proposed in the fall, but it
           | has now been pushed back to December.
        
         | dane-pgp wrote:
         | The intelligence agencies wouldn't be very good at their job if
         | you knew what they were up to, would they?
        
       | tasogare wrote:
       | At some point we'll have to go in Bruxelles & Strasbourg to "have
       | a talk" with those parliamentarians and reclaim our freedom. Is
       | this what they are searching for, to justify even harsher laws if
       | popular revolt fails? Or just harass even more political
       | opponents by finding them automatically? All this crap is not
       | gonna end well...
        
         | cure wrote:
         | It's not the parliament that is pushing this nonsense. It's the
         | European Commission, which is not directly elected, that is the
         | problem.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | dahfizz wrote:
         | I wish you luck; without the right to bear arms you are going
         | to need it.
        
       | nix23 wrote:
       | https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/message-screening/
        
       | say_it_as_it_is wrote:
       | Every bill in politics should include a reversion migration to
       | back out of when it fails to achieve the goal of the bill. If
       | this is for child porn protection, 12 months from now it should
       | be reversed when the technology gets used for other purposes.
        
       | LinuxBender wrote:
       | This likely affects most people world-wide given chat platforms
       | like Discord and Slack allow EU and non-EU citizens to chat with
       | each other. At least they are being up front about it and giving
       | people time to migrate to smaller self contained platforms.
        
       | christkv wrote:
       | I bet you the politicians and other EU crats will be exempt
       | because of "fill in bs reason". Only for the dirty evil plebs.
       | 
       | We need P2P to come back and fast and make this hard to
       | impossible to do.
        
         | petre wrote:
         | Technology isn't going to fix corruption, bureaucracy and lack
         | of transparency. Yes, we can play with P2P crypto stuff until
         | they ban it and classify it as _firearms_.
        
       | jgilias wrote:
       | Going on a bit of a tangent here, but I would really prefer if
       | less people chose video as the medium to explain things. For me
       | at least it's markedly easier, quicker, and convenient to read
       | things.
        
         | Avalaxy wrote:
         | Yep. Currently sitting in a waiting room with other people. I
         | didnt bring headphones so have no way to consume this content.
        
           | notRobot wrote:
           | Did you take a look at the video description?
           | http://www.chatcontrol.eu/
        
         | nix23 wrote:
         | The full text is in the the description of the video:
         | 
         | More info: https://www.chatcontrol.eu
        
         | callen43 wrote:
         | From the publisher of the video (Patrick Breyer, member of the
         | European parliament)
         | 
         | http://www.chatcontrol.eu/
        
           | dang wrote:
           | Discussed not that long ago:
           | 
           |  _Messaging and chat control_ -
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28115343 - Aug 2021 (317
           | comments)
        
         | tomc1985 wrote:
         | You can thank gen Z and their enthusiastic refusal to read for
         | that
        
           | nix23 wrote:
           | I am 4 years older then you...young buddy.
        
             | tomc1985 wrote:
             | You're being snarky but the rise of video for basic info
             | transmission really bugs me. You even get these clowns
             | making videos of them typing into notepad! Like ffs get a
             | gd blogger account
        
         | shuntress wrote:
         | I agree that a concise and well-written statement will
         | typically be more efficient than a video of similar quality.
         | 
         | But something about speaking to a camera seems to make it
         | easier for people to express their thoughts in a digestible
         | way. I tend to find that, for many topics, some random 5-10
         | minute video of a person talking to the camera will tend to be
         | more informative than some random 5-10 paragraph article.
        
       | jimbob45 wrote:
       | >Previously secure end-to-end encrypted messenger services such
       | as Whatsapp or Signal would be forced to install a backdoor. [0]
       | 
       | So as an American, are there any Euros that can enlighten me on
       | whether or not there remain any procedural hurdles left for this
       | to clear? Or is this being implemented in Signal as we speak?
       | 
       | https://european-pirateparty.eu/parliament-approves-chatcont...
        
         | bojan wrote:
         | There are still quite some hurdles. The European Comission is
         | set to propose to make it mandatory, but the proposal will only
         | come in December (and has been already postponed a couple of
         | times due to the resistance). Then the European Parliament
         | needs to pass it.
         | 
         | The fight is not over, and resisting legislation like this in
         | the past has provided results. I am hopeful.
        
           | laurent92 wrote:
           | The People shouldn't have to oppose what their leaders want.
           | Not in a democracy. The people should vote.
        
             | thomasahle wrote:
             | The leaders listen to what the people say too. If the only
             | people to speak up are the "we must do everything we can to
             | protect the children" people, and the "we must give the
             | police any tools they ask for", it's easy for the leaders
             | to forget about the rest.
        
               | laurent92 wrote:
               | Or the leaders listen to who pays them. The vocabulary of
               | listening or voting has faded away for the vocabulary of
               | "explaining" or "spreading awareness", in both of which
               | people are told what they should think. But they also
               | listen, to ensure their explanations are "understood".
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | blibble wrote:
           | the commission wouldn't have proposed it if they didn't think
           | they would be able to push through the vast majority of it
           | 
           | and if they don't get it through this parliament they'll wait
           | until the next one, and so on
           | 
           | and once it's passed: the parliament has no ability to alter
           | or undo it
        
             | AnssiH wrote:
             | But the commission has not actually proposed it, has it?
        
         | AnssiH wrote:
         | There is no actual concrete proposal at all yet, so this is
         | very far from passing in my opinion. (I think this is the
         | initiative: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-
         | regulation/have-your-sa...)
         | 
         | The article in your link ("Parliament approves chatcontrol") is
         | also misleading. What was actually passed in July 2021 was a
         | temporary 3-year restoration of pre-Dec-2020 rules that _allow_
         | service providers to voluntarily scan for child abuse (news
         | release: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-
         | room/20210701IP... , actual legal text: https://eur-
         | lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A...). Dec 2020
         | privacy law changes would have otherwise prohibited voluntary
         | scanning.
        
         | nisegami wrote:
         | I would like to think Signal would simply not operate in the EU
         | in any official capacity if this were passed as written.
         | WhatsApp would definitely cave though.
        
           | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
           | I mean, it's not that difficult for them to do this for the
           | EU. The EU can be like _" You guys know those back-doors you
           | put in for the CCP so they let you operate in China? Yeah,
           | those, just gives us a fork of exactly that and we're cool.
           | Maybe we'll also stop fining you every year for privacy
           | violations and such if you play ball. :wink-wink:"_
        
           | hellojesus wrote:
           | Two questions:
           | 
           | 1. If Signal does implement something like this, are they
           | under gag orders so wouldn't be able to inform users?
           | 
           | 2. What if they simply don't comply? So long as they don't
           | have an office in the EU, is there anything that could be
           | done? Users could just side-load.
        
             | lixtra wrote:
             | > 2. What if they simply don't comply? So long as they
             | don't have an office in the EU, is there anything that
             | could be done?
             | 
             | Signal would be banned from European appstores/IPs.
             | 
             | > Users could just side-load.
             | 
             | Yes. But that can be illegal. And is an option for only a
             | small part of the population.
        
               | hellojesus wrote:
               | This is really interesting to me.
               | 
               | How could side-loading be illegal? It's just software.
               | 
               | How would the state prevent vpns or tor users from
               | connecting to Signal servers?
               | 
               | More importantly, what if users just use pgp in emails,
               | etc.?
        
               | megous wrote:
               | It can't. It's as simple as that.
               | 
               | This is all just to catch people who don't know how the
               | technology works.
        
               | dane-pgp wrote:
               | > How could side-loading be illegal? It's just software.
               | 
               | A government could start by demanding that all
               | smartphones sold in their territory disallow side-
               | loading. That's obviously already the case for iPhones,
               | and it would be a small "security update" to Android
               | phones to prevent side-loading.
               | 
               | As apps can detect which firmware version your phone is
               | running, and whether the phone has been rooted, it's
               | possible for phones to send cryptographically secured
               | attestations to a government server that it is compliant
               | with this new rule. Mobile networks can then block the
               | IMEI numbers of phones which have side-loaded apps, or at
               | least limit them to only sending/receiving calls and
               | texts.
               | 
               | That won't stop people using these chat services on
               | laptops, for example, but within a few years it will be
               | feasible to enforce a similar "trusted platform"
               | condition on those too.
        
               | lixtra wrote:
               | > How could side-loading be illegal? It's just software.
               | 
               | Lawmakers have no problem making software illegal [1].
               | 
               | > How would the state prevent vpns or tor users from
               | connecting to Signal servers?
               | 
               | They don't have to prevent a 100%. They may just decide
               | to police and punish.
               | 
               | > More importantly, what if users just use pgp in emails,
               | etc.?
               | 
               | The same stupid arguments about lawful access (=back
               | doors) [2] come up again and again. But that does not
               | ensure it won't become law some day. If users continue to
               | use secure tools above policing and punishing applies.
               | 
               | [1] https://edri.org/our-work/edrigramnumber5-11germany-
               | bans-hac...
               | 
               | [2] https://www.justice.gov/olp/lawful-access
        
               | hellojesus wrote:
               | Point taken. But it is beyond me why anyone would let
               | this type of law prevent them from encrypting their hard
               | drives and messages.
               | 
               | I would gladly take on the state to fight for the right
               | to encrypt, but I'm American so I do understand my
               | culture significantly impacts that perspective.
        
               | feanaro wrote:
               | Furthermore, are we now banning decentralized chat
               | networks, where everyone can host their own node, like
               | Matrix?
        
             | thomasahle wrote:
             | > 1. If Signal does implement something like this, are they
             | under gag orders so wouldn't be able to inform users?
             | 
             | I would guess not. At least if you mean gag-orders as used
             | in the US by NSA etc.
             | 
             | That's because this would be a law, and not a "friendly
             | favor" asked for by the police. A law is at least under
             | public scrutiny in contrast to fisa orders etc.
             | 
             | Another question is whether EU police already is issuing
             | gag based surveillance orders today. I'd like to know the
             | answer to that too.
        
       | 323 wrote:
       | They are a bit behind times with the messaging.
       | 
       | Instead of talking about pedophiles, they should talk about
       | racists and far right extremists using chat platforms, that would
       | rally a big part of the press in support:
       | 
       | > White supremacists openly organize racist violence on Telegram,
       | report finds
       | 
       | https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/26/tech/white-supremacists-t...
       | 
       | > Telegram: why right-wing extremists' favorite new platform is
       | so dangerous
       | 
       | https://www.vox.com/recode/22238755/telegram-messaging-socia...
       | 
       | > Neo-Nazi groups use Instagram to recruit young people, warns
       | Hope Not Hate
       | 
       | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/22/neo-nazi-group...
       | 
       | > How far right uses video games and tech to lure and radicalise
       | teenage recruits
       | 
       | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/14/how-far-right-...
       | 
       | > Revealed: walkie-talkie app Zello hosted far-right groups who
       | stormed Capitol
       | 
       | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/13/zello-app-us...
       | 
       | > The UK social media platform where neo-Nazis can view terror
       | atrocities
       | 
       | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/28/the-uk-soci...
       | 
       | > Are Private Messaging Apps the Next Misinformation Hot Spot?
       | 
       | https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/technology/personaltech/t...
       | 
       | > The Cybersecurity 202: Extremists flocking to encrypted apps
       | could restart debate over law enforcement access
       | 
       | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/13/cybersecu...
        
         | natded wrote:
         | Do not worry, this is their actual goal obviously. Can't have
         | anyone voice opinions different from Klaus Schwab.
        
       | ricardobayes wrote:
       | I personally don't see anything wrong with this. If a private
       | company would do this, sure. But the EU, no. They are non-profit
       | and very unlikely to ever turn rogue. edit: I even welcome this
       | change. You can dislike how you wish, I stand by my view.
        
       | pydry wrote:
       | I really wish somebody (or a lot of people) would write a hit
       | movie/book where an innocent person on the run from a stasi-like
       | state in 2035 has to face an interrogator who could read their
       | whatsapp messages and google searches dating back to 2021.
       | 
       | Without art or literature that draws out the terror I don't think
       | most people can really envisage the danger we're all being put
       | in. Without popular consciousness of the problem, it's all the
       | more likely to happen.
        
         | pmlnr wrote:
         | In the 80s we had cyberpunk dripping from everywhere, in the
         | 90s we had movies like The Net from 1995: (
         | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113957/ ), and just recently(ish)
         | we had Black Mirror.
         | 
         | People don't realize how deep the shit is becoming despite all
         | these. We have successfully amused ourselves to death. (as per
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death )
        
         | superkuh wrote:
         | Cory Doctorow wrote this story in a number of ways but the most
         | obvious one was back in 2007 called "Scroogled".
         | http://superkuh.com/scroogled.html is a mirror because the
         | https://craphound.com/scroogled.html version is garbled.
        
           | pydry wrote:
           | Thanks! Yes, exactly like that.
        
         | drclau wrote:
         | It's a good idea. But I don't think the impact will be as big
         | as you hope. The "it can't happen to me" bias (optimism bias
         | [0]) will make sure of that.
         | 
         | Links:
         | 
         | [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimism_bias
        
           | pydry wrote:
           | I would expect the impact to be the way in which it would
           | shape conversations afterwards by serving as a cultural
           | touchpoint. Much like 1984 does.
           | 
           | I'd really like to simply reference a classic movie or book
           | as a conversation ender every time this shit cropped up
           | rather than explain abstract risks from scratch in a less
           | than engaging fashion.
           | 
           | Anyway. This isnt a problem I can solve.
        
             | drclau wrote:
             | Btw, your idea reminds me of "Enemy of the State" movie
             | [0]. I feel it was somewhat similar to your idea, except it
             | dealt with what seemed to be a potentially big issue back
             | then.
             | 
             | Links:
             | 
             | [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120660/
        
           | RicoElectrico wrote:
           | Movies can and do shape public opinion. So did the Jaws with
           | respect to sharks [1]
           | 
           | [1] https://daily.jstor.org/sharks-before-and-after-jaws/
        
         | megous wrote:
         | The danger is from companies building massive centralized
         | archives of people's interpersonal comunications, behaviors and
         | ideas. The data is already available for nefarious purposes
         | internally. I'd be more interested in knowing how rampant the
         | abuse of the data already is.
        
         | malandrew wrote:
         | I think what is sad is such a movie would literally have to use
         | Google and WhatsApp in the movie as opposed to some fictional
         | search engine or fictional social network for people to make
         | the connection these days.
         | 
         | Honestly, 1984 should be enough as it's not a big jump from
         | 1984 telescreens to Google/Facebook.
        
           | pydry wrote:
           | Why is that sad?
        
             | vaylian wrote:
             | Because otherwise most people won't understand that it is a
             | criticism of how things are in the real world.
        
           | PaulDavisThe1st wrote:
           | Combining some recent news in which a company is attempting
           | to claim at least common words for their new identity, I
           | would just tweak the story so that the "Web" corporation in
           | 2035 is at some point disclosed to be merely a rebranding of
           | those we know today. One character will mention it to another
           | in a casual side-remark.
           | 
           | "Yeah, I never did feel great about the time that old search
           | engine company renamed themselves "Web", but I guess the name
           | stuck"
        
           | avgcorrection wrote:
           | Honestly it's nothing new. Dystopian stories about modern
           | social media (or technology in general) gone wrong? Did I
           | dream that Black Mirror was a thing?
           | 
           | Black Mirror is just an example. And the whole "social media
           | ruined the life of this one unsuspecting person" plotline is
           | pretty boring and on-the-nose by now.
        
         | snthd wrote:
         | It's not enough (but it's still a good idea).
         | 
         | "Slaughterbots" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fa9lVwHHqg)
         | shows a terror angle for some of what technology can do
         | (drones).
        
         | skratlo wrote:
         | Black Mirror
        
         | radicalbyte wrote:
         | Slack has a premium version which explicitly allows this: your
         | employer can export ALL messages, including your private
         | messages.
        
           | aftbit wrote:
           | Good to mention it, but IMO generally assume anything issued
           | by or associated with your work is owned.
        
           | chronogram wrote:
           | I imagine every work communications platform has such a
           | feature since before email.
        
         | PeterisP wrote:
         | The games Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You and Orwell: Ignorance
         | is Strength explore this aspect, the player is an investigator
         | that can read "whatsapp messages and google searches" to
         | prosecute (or, in some cases, protect) people on the run from a
         | stasi-like state.
        
         | whitepaint wrote:
         | Oh man, this is a wonderful idea.
        
         | xalava wrote:
         | "Give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man,
         | I will find enough there to hang him" Richelieu, French PM,
         | 17th century
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | zoover2020 wrote:
         | Hollywood, watch this.
        
           | pydry wrote:
           | Alas it wouldnt be a remake or a superhero franchise. The
           | best I can probably hope for is Charlie Brooker seeing it.
           | 
           | And, if he writes a screenplay about it that probably means
           | it already happened.
        
         | zarq wrote:
         | Hunted, a Dutch TV series, is a reality show featuring exactly
         | this kind of investigative resources. A lot of times, the
         | players (the hunted) are tracked down because they used some
         | form of communication that is compromised by the hunters.
        
         | sharperguy wrote:
         | It would just be labeled a right wing conspiracy video from
         | trump supporters.
        
           | brippalcharrid wrote:
           | But at the same time, if a [big-budget Hollywood] film like
           | this were to be made, some might be tempted to think that it
           | was a form of Predictive Programming.
        
         | hohloma wrote:
         | I changed my mind a bit on this issue. of course I still think
         | its better with as little surveillance as possible, but I don't
         | think what you are describing is actually "terror". If you are
         | really an innocent person, there will be nothing in your
         | history. I mean can you give me some examples of things this
         | stati-state will find about you? Your porn history? or random
         | wiki page about explosives? If there is a stasi-like state and
         | they really want to get you, they don't need your history from
         | 2021, its enough to just beat a concession from you about
         | anything. Just see what the current stasi-like states are
         | doing. Otherwise "Enemy of the state" is a pretty good movie.
        
           | bserge wrote:
           | Let's see, drone research, bomb research, gunmaking and
           | ammunition possibilities, research on fires, explosions and
           | incendiary devices, quick suicide methods, drugs, legality
           | and punishment for a lot of shit, etc.
           | 
           | Yep, I'm fucked :D
        
           | mpolichette wrote:
           | I want to agree with you... the problem arises because you're
           | applying your values to those items... e.g. "yeah they're
           | embarrassing/bad, but not really that bad"...
           | 
           | However, it becomes scary when the people with access are
           | much less level-headed. There are people who think gay people
           | or watching porn should require treatment. There have been
           | power changes where people with drastically different views
           | have an agenda to push, and your innocuous "not really that
           | bad" is all of a sudden an imprisonable offense because you
           | "think differently" and you might encourage others.
        
           | AnthonyMouse wrote:
           | > If you are really an innocent person, there will be nothing
           | in your history.
           | 
           | It's only not about things that are incriminating. Suppose
           | you were a witness to something nobody was supposed to know
           | about and now you're to be disposed of.
           | 
           | If they have your message history, they have your full
           | contact list, your relationships with them, who you trust the
           | most, where you like to hang out, who owes you money or
           | favors you could call in. You're completely isolated. For
           | sure you can't use any kind of ATM or credit card or find
           | work anywhere they'd expect you to provide a social security
           | number.
           | 
           | How far can you get if you can't buy gas or travel tickets?
           | What do you do for food?
        
           | ljm wrote:
           | Innocent of what, though?
           | 
           | This sounds like the nothing to hide, nothing to fear
           | argument.
           | 
           | The history allows such a state to construct a narrative
           | where everybody else thinks you're guilty, based on your
           | messages and porn history and so on. Cherry-picking, quoting
           | out of context, etc. This allows the state to legitimise
           | their actions, where torture would fail to do so.
           | 
           | Make everyone fear each other.
        
           | ben_w wrote:
           | > I mean can you give me some examples of things this stati-
           | state will find about you?
           | 
           | I think it's a bit unfair to ask someone to throw away their
           | (assuming American) 5th Amendment rights to make a point.
           | 
           | To paint with a broad and nonspecific brush, the UK
           | government has regular surveys asking about drug use[0] which
           | show that in the year ending March 2020, 7.4% of young adults
           | used a class A drug. Possession of that class carries a
           | maximum penalty of 7 years and an unlimited fine, supply and
           | production up to life and unlimited fine.
           | 
           | Even for more mundane things like road traffic laws, if they
           | were fully enforced then the only people with licenses would
           | be those who didn't drive.
           | 
           | (And are your memes fully licensed from the original
           | copyright holder?)
           | 
           | [0] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crime
           | and...
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | AshamedCaptain wrote:
         | Do note that they can already do that now. A stasi-like state
         | just has to force Google/Apple to store/give them the history,
         | and Google/Apple will oblige. They already do so regularly in
         | "non-stasi" states without much fanfare.
        
         | laumars wrote:
         | That's genius. The Circle (with Emma Watson and Karen Gillan)
         | started out really promising but ended up drifting in silliness
         | towards the end. Also I seem to recall the movie having a
         | really wooden quality despite the emotional content and having
         | competent actors.
        
         | hulitu wrote:
         | The funny part will be that the same politicians who today vote
         | this crap will be its victims. Those who do not underestand
         | history, will repeat it.
        
       | visarga wrote:
       | I'd rather have the ability to filter what I don't like in my
       | feeds, but having the government do this is totalitarian. Who
       | knows what they will search for, I lived under communism for 15
       | years, thank you, don't want back to the reign of terror.
        
         | ricardobayes wrote:
         | The possibility of the EU becoming a totalitarian power is
         | without foundation.
        
         | iakov wrote:
         | It's not even about your feeds. It's about your private
         | messages. Crazy stuff, Gestapo and KGB wouldn't even dream of
         | this level of surveillance of ordinary citizens.
        
           | heavenlyblue wrote:
           | > Crazy stuff, Gestapo and KGB wouldn't even dream of this
           | level of surveillance of ordinary citizens.
           | 
           | They were doing that exact thing to selected citizens. So did
           | FBI for alleged communists.
           | 
           | Bugging apartments, planting their own spies, opening up
           | private letters, etc.
        
             | PontifexMinimus wrote:
             | > They were doing that exact thing to selected citizens
             | 
             | But they couldn't do it to everyone. Now with computers
             | they can. You might think 1984 was written as a warning,
             | but the powers that be see it as an instruction manual.
        
             | rhn_mk1 wrote:
             | > selected citizens
             | 
             | Yup, they wouldn't even dream about that magnitude.
        
             | buran77 wrote:
             | Scale makes a whole lot of difference. Even the Stasi, the
             | KGB, or the FBI had to restrict such monitoring to the
             | small fraction of the population they actually suspected.
             | Now they don't only suspect everyone, they also have the
             | tools to monitor everyone.
             | 
             | It's the difference between being able to point a gun at a
             | few inconvenient people, and being able to point it at
             | everybody, all the time. Eventually the temptation
             | presented by this kind of power and control over people
             | will intersect with some Erdogan or Lukashenko type with
             | the finger on the trigger.
        
               | PeterisP wrote:
               | IIRC both Stasi and KGB _did_ aim for an almost full
               | coverage of surveillance and informants, not just
               | limiting to a small fraction of the population. Stasi had
               | 500000+ informants (3% or more of population) which had
               | _done_ monitoring, and obviously they wrote reports on
               | much more people than that.
               | 
               | Similarly for KGB; I believe that standard practice was
               | to recruit secret informants e.g. from _every_ course
               | group in universities, so any student activities would be
               | fully covered and you could get a personal report about
               | every student; for 100% of any trips abroad the group had
               | an agent /informant or multiple within the group. So
               | you'd have a small fraction (multiple percent?) of
               | population actively involved in the monitoring, and a
               | majority of people being at least occasionally monitored
               | - as the archives later revealed, an _average person_
               | should expect that your colleagues, friends and relatives
               | will [have to] write reports on you (corroborated by the
               | fact that any group might include two or more informants,
               | so any omissions would be obvious and cause consequences
               | for the false reporter) and note any expressions of anti-
               | government sentiment.
               | 
               | The aim _was_ to effectively keep a gun aimed at
               | everyone, and they were somewhat successful in achieving
               | that (or at least maintaining that belief) even without
               | modern technologies.
        
               | buran77 wrote:
               | > The aim was to effectively keep a gun aimed at everyone
               | 
               | The aim was to make everyone believe there _may_ be a gun
               | pointed at them even if there wasn 't. While that was
               | relatively effective do you know what is even more
               | effective? _Actually_ having a gun pointed at everyone.
               | 
               | Having 500k Stasi informants and spies over its 50 years
               | of existence is a far cry from being able to effectively
               | spy on everyone all the time. And informants are
               | notoriously unreliable due to a whole host of human
               | failings, not least among them being that the people want
               | to gain favor or at least not antagonize the state.
               | 
               | The modern surveillance state would make you inform on
               | yourself via every device or communication channel you
               | use, and at all times, with some human/AI combination
               | making sure very little if anything is missed.
        
               | PontifexMinimus wrote:
               | If Erdogan isn't doing this already, he certainly has
               | plans to. As do Putin, Xi, and a load of others. Welcome
               | to our Brave New World.
        
               | oleganza wrote:
               | :eyeroll:
               | 
               | Why is it always "them" vs "us"? NSA/CIA are doing
               | probably a better job at global surveillance of
               | everything and everyone, simply based on resources
               | available to them. Every powerful enough government spies
               | on the largest scale they can, because just letting
               | someone else to spy on you and not spy yourself (if you
               | can) would be infinitely foolish.
               | 
               | Even at local scale. If citizens could find a way to hold
               | their president on short leash, such president would be
               | more likely to listen to the citizens. But citizens don't
               | have such powers, only presidents do, so they only have
               | to listen to each other.
        
               | marcodiego wrote:
               | Thanks to how big IT companies have tighter ties to
               | developed countries, I wouldn't consider only these
               | governments. Remember the list of companies who
               | participated in PRISM were mostly (only) US-based.
        
               | intricatedetail wrote:
               | What makes you think people proposing this aren't on
               | level (or even above) with Erdogan or Lukashenko? At this
               | point they are just better at maintaining a good image. I
               | don't believe you can have good intentions and still want
               | to introduce such level of mass surveillance.
        
               | [deleted]
        
           | walrus01 wrote:
           | If modern day tech had been available to the stasi they
           | absolutely would have used it. They were already beginning to
           | collect hair samples from people in the late 1980s in
           | anticipation of widespread DNA testing being available 5, 10,
           | 15 years down the road.
        
             | mod50ack wrote:
             | I think the Chinese government in the present day (for
             | example) provides us with a good idea of what the Stasi
             | would be doing today.
        
               | nix23 wrote:
               | And we try to re-implement it because it works...for the
               | government ;)
        
       | Aerroon wrote:
       | I don't see how this won't pass. It's the EU. In the minds of
       | many people the EU can do no wrong. And if they do something
       | wrong it's okay and a small thing. And if it's not a small thing
       | then you're just a conspiracy theorist that hates democracy.
       | 
       | In the past the EU passed a directive that required all ISPs to
       | save what websites you visited. This was overturned years later,
       | but it seems now they're trying again through a different angle.
       | 
       | Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Retention_Directive
        
         | merb wrote:
         | well now it's child pornography which they use to push such
         | things trough. all people hate child pornography, but I mean,
         | who would use whatsapp for such things? I mean seriously what
         | are they even thinking? making such a thing go trough a
         | official directive probably makes things go worse, way worse.
         | 
         | a lot of people in germany, basically do not care they thing
         | they do not have anything to hide (which is probably right) but
         | there are so many crimes which are just done in front of
         | everybody and nobody did care (cum ex, wirecard, just to name
         | some). it's like once the rich or politicans are involved they
         | start to care.
        
       | xcambar wrote:
       | Since it applies to chat and messaging providers... does it mean
       | I could self-host my emails and save them from Chatcontrol?
        
         | sabellito wrote:
         | Then everyone you communicate with would also need to self-
         | host.
        
           | LinuxBender wrote:
           | Maybe a small but growing number of people could deploy
           | NextCloud _(open source file sharing, email app)_. [1][2]
           | Some VPS providers make it easier to deploy. There might be
           | easier ways to deploy nextcloud.
           | 
           | [1] - https://www.vultr.com/apps/nextcloud
           | 
           | [2] -
           | https://www.linode.com/marketplace/apps/linode/nextcloud/
        
       | kingcharles wrote:
       | We'll have to go back to the days of Echelon in the 90s where
       | everyone stuffed their Usenet posts and emails with keywords
       | intending to render any surveillance useless due to overwhelming
       | number of matches.
        
       | eluusive wrote:
       | This is definitely coming down the pipe. I think it's extremely
       | imported to come up with an alternative to the existing
       | centralized systems; which I believe primarily exist in order to
       | mitigate spam.
       | 
       | Some people have been working on an interesting solution called
       | StampChat which has a similar topology to email, but the messages
       | are encrypted by default and the spam mitigation is done via
       | sending tokens to the recipient (ala Hal Finney's RPoW) idea.
       | 
       | It's still a prototype, but there is one deployment over here:
       | https://web.stampchat.io
       | 
       | The whitepaper on the protocol is here:
       | https://www.stampchat.io/whitepaper.pdf
       | 
       | There's a faucet here if anyone is interested
       | https://faucet.lotuslounge.org/
       | 
       | We're not doing an ICO or anything, happy to give out more tokens
       | out.
        
         | shuntress wrote:
         | > I think it's extremely imported to come up with an
         | alternative to the existing centralized systems; which I
         | believe primarily exist in order to mitigate spam.
         | 
         | I think spam and abuse are definitely significant problems.
         | 
         | The centralized systems are like medieval walled cities.
         | 
         | They exist because, for an average individual, there is no
         | practical way to live outside their walls.
         | 
         | It's difficult to run your own email server. But, while the
         | technical challenge may be difficult, the greater difficulty is
         | in preventing your email server from becoming a bot in a spam
         | network.
        
       | Zababa wrote:
       | Sent to the US? Really? The whole idea is terrible and harmful,
       | but this part is what surprises me the most.
        
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