I read the article, and it’s hard to see how this would have worldwide effects. If anything, the companies with customers in the UK will: disable E2EE for chats with UK parties (likely warning the parties); leave the UK market rather than weaken their brand; or create a secondary product just for the UK. Consumers will continue to find workarounds provided the phones and computers are not fully controlled by the government.
The fact that the government would have to force client side scanning software onto phones and computers is probably the death knell of the UK tech industry. Either that, or so many exceptions will need to be added that the legislation would be ineffective. Can you imagine a Linux hacker recompiling their own kernel and then getting thrown in jail because they didn’t enable the government scanning module?
I think the major concern is the idea of the government backdoor, any company that implements such a thing is adding a serious weakness to their product. I’m sure the major companies will probably find some other way to contain it to the UK (or leave the UK entirely), but some will opt for the backdoor to cut costs.
“I think the major concern is the idea of the government backdoor”
The concern is individual security and privacy, not the government getting what it deserves if that were to happen
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Don’t you just love it when the justification for fascism becomes, “What about the kids?” I am not saying that this is necessarily the case in this instance, but it’s a common refrain for breaking technology and taking away rights by the authoritarian state.
“Of course we have to spy on you, there’s terrorists out there”.
Truth is, terrorists can fight for freedom. Terrorism isn’t always bad. As a french, I’m well aware of the need for revolt
One man’s terrorism is another man’s freedom. It’s all about perspective and what the person has to gain or lose.
