Large, diverse coalition of civil society groups tell the US, UK and Australian governments not to ban working encryption

[doctorow]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/13/not-this-shit-again.html

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[Ratel]

@doctorow

101 civil society groups have written back to the USA, UK and Australia to tell them that there is no such thing as encryption that protects good guys but lets cops spy on bad guys, so anything done to weaken security will put everyone at risk of surveillance – from hostile foreign powers, criminal gangs, identity thieves, stalkers, domestic abusers, voyeurs, corporate espionage, and other bad actors.

Gosh, that will really make them think twice.

[Scientist]

The great Upton Sinclair quote of “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it” was a failed politician talking about voters willful blindness. The modern world seems to be defined by the difficulty of getting politicians to understand truths that conflict with the wishes of lobbyists and military industrial complex.

Good luck to the 101 groups. Continually trying to explain that mathematics doesn’t fall under legislative jurisdiction is a fight worth fighting

[Papasan]

adding working encryption by default would make it harder for spies and cops to do their jobs.

The Zuck will do their bidding, count on it. He knows who butters his bread…

[RickMycroft]

@doctorow

protects good guys but lets cops spy on bad guys

But which country’s cops and whose bad guys?

Will there be one skeleton key for the Five Eyes? Another for the EU? More for other countries that insist on one? That nightmare would reduce the crypto protection to mush.

[hastur]

Everyone knows the terrorists and criminals have moved to Puffin Party

[bangskij]

I wish they would ban encryption, all of it. Their banking sectors would collapse in what, a few milliseconds or so? Let’s be generous and say a couple of minutes before these nation states seized to exist. They’re obviously way past their sell by date and they’re starting to smell funny, they’ll be missed like I miss the gunk I clean out from behind the stove now and then.

[JonS]

mathematics doesn’t fall under legislative jurisdiction

It does in Australia!