Context: Chat Control 2.0: EU governments set to approve the end of private messaging and secure encryption
“By making a minor concession EU governments hope to find a majority next week to approve the controversial ‘chat control’ bill. According to the proposed child sexual abuse regulation (CSAR), providers of messengers, e-mail and chat services would be forced to automatically search all private messages and photos for suspicious content and report it to the EU. To find a majority for this unprecedented mass surveillance, the EU Council Presidency proposed Tuesday that the scanners would initially search for previously classified CSAM only, and even less reliable technology to classify unknown imagery or conversations would be reserved to a later stage. The proposed „deal“ will be discussed by ambassadors tomorrow and could be adopted by ministers next week.”
With a little knowledge, it’s not very hard to make your own messaging app and share it with those you know. And there’s plenty projects online that give you what you need without having to write the code yourself. Alternatively, there’s just plenty dark web and under the radar apps already that won’t bend to this ruling.
What it is, though, is very inconvenient and annoying to do so.
But if you’re an actual criminal, then there is this solution here that can never be subject to this ruling.
So what this clearly means is that the EU will violate the privacy of all the everyday people that don’t handle that inconvenience, pushing the serious criminals to dark channels.
To be fair, AFAIK criminals often use insecure means of communication already so my guess is that this will result in more criminals not putting in the effort to set up/use an encrypted communication network.
However this is 1. probably not something any person who made that law knew 2. a bullshit excuse anyway.
This law has nothing to do with CSAM or child abuse prevention. “Think of the Children” is just an effective rallying point because, of course, no one wants to come out against it publicly. The Surveillance State grows.