Europe

I am incredible concerned about the topic, like many of you. But I also can't help but feel we are missing key arguments beyond "individual rights" which are under attack in many fronts by conservative and right wings groups which have taken over a lot of the discourse in general media. That is why I believe we must bring to light another perspective they cannot ignore, which is also easy to explain to the public. The point I want to touch, which others have done occasionally (but not frequently enough for the general public), is that Chat Control is a national security nightmare. We need to start shifting public discourse to highlight this fact.

Encryption is one of the most powerful defensive tools we have, because any deliberate weakness, any backdoor, can never be reserved solely for “the good guys.” Once a system is built to decrypt private communications, it becomes vulnerable not just to governments but to criminals, hostile actors, and data breaches, and even to misuse by private companies that gain access to sensitive information. In a world where leaked or stolen data can be weaponized to pressure, silence, or blackmail people who have committed no crime, strong end-to-end encryption is not a luxury but a fundamental safeguard for personal safety, freedom of expression, and democratic resilience.

No one is perfect, and that simple truth is exactly what makes large troves of personal data so dangerous in the wrong hands. Everyone has vulnerabilities, mistakes, insecurities, private struggles, or simply aspects of life they would rather keep to themselves. The more data that exists, the easier it is for someone to map those weak spots. With enough insight into a person’s habits, fears, or relationships, almost anyone can be pressured or coerced into actions they would never otherwise consider. This is why mass access to decrypted personal information is not just a theoretical risk; it’s an open invitation for manipulation that threatens the autonomy and integrity of ordinary people.

When entire populations become more vulnerable to coercion because their private lives can be mined for leverage, the threat extends far beyond individual harm, it becomes a national-security liability. A society in which citizens can be more easily blackmailed is a society in which adversaries find it far simpler to recruit insiders, extract sensitive information, or pressure people into acting against their own country’s interests. Strong encryption, by protecting citizens from becoming easy targets, reinforces national resilience: it ensures that loyalty cannot be subverted through exploitation of personal data and that the security of a nation does not hinge on the weakest, most exposed individual.

TLDR:

Strong encryption is essential because any intentional weakness, any backdoor, can never be reserved for “the good guys,” and once private data is exposed through breaches, misuse, or systemic access, it becomes a powerful tool for coercion. No one is perfect. Everyone has vulnerabilities or private struggles that, when revealed, can be exploited to pressure or silence them, even if they’ve committed no crime. At scale, this isn’t just a personal-privacy issue but a national-security risk: a population made easier to blackmail is a population more susceptible to infiltration, manipulation, and recruitment by hostile actors. Protecting encryption protects individuals, and the country, from these cascading threats.

Encryption is far more impactful than decryption!