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152
"This is a political deception" โˆ’ New Chat Control convinces lawmakers, but not privacy experts yet (www.techradar.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Babalugats@feddit.uk to c/europe@feddit.org
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The EU Council seems to agree to the new compromise "without further changes"

The EU Council has received new Chat Control proposal with broad support
CSAM scanning would now be voluntary, but with some exceptions
Lawmakers met today (November 12) for further discussion

It's official, a revised version of the CSAM scanning proposal is back on the EU lawmakers' table โˆ’ and is keeping privacy experts worried.

The Law Enforcement Working Party met again this morning (November 12) in the EU Council to discuss what's been deemed by critics the Chat Control bill.

This follows a meeting the group held on November 5, and comes as the Denmark Presidency put forward a new compromise after withdrawing mandatory chat scanning.

As reported by Netzpolitik, the latest Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) proposal was received with broad support during the November 5 meeting, "without any dissenting votes" nor further changes needed.

The new text, which removes all provisions on detection obligations included in the bill and makes CSAM scanning voluntary, seems to be the winning path to finally find an agreement after over three years of trying.

Privacy experts and technologists aren't quite on board, though, with long-standing Chat Control critic and digital rights jurist, Patrick Breyer, deeming the proposal "a political deception of the highest order." Chat Control โˆ’ what's changing and what are the risk

As per the latest version of the text, messaging service providers won't be forced to scan all URLs, pictures, and videos shared by users, but rather choose to perform voluntary CSAM scanning.

There's a catch, though. Article 4 will include a possible "mitigation measure" that could be applied to high-risk services to require them to take "all appropriate risk mitigation measures."

According to Breyer, such a loophole could make the removal of detection obligations "worthless" by negating their voluntary nature. He said: "Even client-side scanning (CSS) on our smartphones could soon become mandatory โ€“ the end of secure encryption."

Breaking encryption, the tech that security software like the best VPNs, Signal, and WhatsApp use to secure our private communications, has been the strongest argument against the proposal so far.

Continue Reading - https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/this-is-a-political-deception-new-chat-control-convinces-lawmakers-but-not-privacy-experts-yet

top 13 comments
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[โ€“] lena@gregtech.eu 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I wish politicians were more afraid of us

[โ€“] Babalugats@feddit.uk 2 points 4 hours ago

They are heavily reliant on the general public not reading articles like this. Saying that, they are also very good at keeping articles like this out of the mainstream. I could honestly say nobody I know personally would know that any of this is going on if I hadn't posted the odd article into a group chat.

Sharing fightchatcontrol.eu has been followed up by a few, and hopefully they have also shared it. The more this is shared, the more effective it can be. Also sharing how they are trying to force it in underhandedly should be heavily criticised.

[โ€“] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 35 points 1 day ago (7 children)

I'm genuinely curious why is Denmark so hellbent on getting this through? You think it's some sort of tool for the intelligence services? Anyone got ideas?

[โ€“] General_Effort@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

My suspicion is always the copyright industry. That's where you got a gazillion dollar financial interest in controlling the flow of information. Indeed, the lobby organization "Thorn" is a Hollywood creation.

It's noteable how the language around copyright infringement has changed. The industry used to call it "theft". Now they use the language of sexual assault and talk about "consent". It's very sexist, too. Poor, helpless women become victims of so-called "digital violence". Kinda fits with that recent prosecution of a Redditor.

[โ€“] verdi@feddit.org 8 points 1 day ago

Denmark is a Nepocracy that survives thanks to selling its EU influence to the US in exchange for preferential treatment for its companies and immunity from prosecution by US courts for its citizens when doing business abroad. They had their first foreign bribery prosecution in 2019 and not much budged since. That's becsuse companies like Mรฆrsk are crucial to the Danish economy, so cheating others to bring wealth inland is fine. It's a modernization of the raping and pillaging of the viking barbarians, just a coat of paint really.

Most danes have no clue this is the reality and truly beliebe there is no corruption in their country so I mostly blame the elites for the status quo.

[โ€“] sauerkrautsaul@lemmus.org 12 points 1 day ago

I'm not shocked that Danish politicians sincerely believe they know what is good for EU citizens more than EU citizens do.

Tolkien didn't whip up Lothlorien elves contemptuousness out of thin air. I'll go ahead and apologize globally for my unabashed prejudice here. Sorry.

What shocks me is the shameless lack of concern for the democratic ideals of the EU by the leadership of the EU which I normally have broad respect for.

Propose a vote, get a NO. Propose it again! NO. Propose it again, NO. Find another way, force it. It's tantamount to abuse and its shameful.

I can only hope against hope that the "all measures" verbiage doesn't include all the worst interpretations that we fear. I'm so fucking sick of worrying about this issue. It feels like abuse, it really does.

I'm sorry for my prejudicial attitude against Danish politicians. You are free to arguably justifiably make me feel bad about it. One time I was in Copenhagen and other than Christiana being kind of cool, they had hot dogs in a kind of baguette tube and I thought that had some merit.

[โ€“] Babalugats@feddit.uk 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'd say it may have a lot to do with that. Israel and the US have shown how powerful abusing peoples privacy can be. They have also shown how profitable.

[โ€“] Sepia@mander.xyz 2 points 1 day ago

Israel and the US have shown how powerful abusing peoples privacy can be.

Not only these two. Just look at Russia and China ...

[โ€“] sp3ctre@feddit.org 3 points 1 day ago

Maybe it's due to persistent lobbyism from organizations like Ashton Kutcher's "Thorn". Not sure how the situation is in Denmark though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_(organization)#Criticism

[โ€“] pasdechance@jlai.lu 4 points 1 day ago

No ideas. But we have parts of the story

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/25/who-benefits-inside-the-eus-fight-over-scanning-for-child-sex-content/

Tech companies, money, etc., same old story.

[โ€“] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I think spying agencies (aka state terrorists) are trying to undermine the sovereignity of the EU. They are trying to corrupt politicians by making them easier to be bribed.

[โ€“] Spark@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 day ago

Saying they need to eliminate all privacy to protect children, yet we have pedophile princes and presidents.

[โ€“] trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Lawmakers are a bunch of corrupt half-wits who can be easily convinced to do anything, als long as you promise them some money in return.