Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Learn more.
EU to vote on Chat Control law that would all-but end message encyption
In This Article
The European Union, which has become increasingly meddlesome in the technology realm in recent years, will vote on Thursday on a proposal requiring messaging apps to scan users’ private communications.
The proposed new regulation has echoes of previous UK goverment and (independently) Apple’s failed attempts to introduce a system to scan messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).Apple dropped the plansafter objections from privacy advocates and fellow messaging apps like WhatsApp, while the UK government backed away from its scheme.
Latest BackBone One controller down to £69.99
The Backbone One game controller is £30 off now. This is the PlayStation edition with a USB-C connector for Android phones and iPhone 15.
The would-beChat Control lawwould require users of popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and iMessage to agree to new terms and conditions allowing images and URLs within their chats to be scanned by the app maker.
Naturally, app makers and concerned privacy advocates are vehemently against the plans, with Signal releasing a statement saying it’ll force communications to be passed through a surveillance system.
“Mandating mass scanning of private communications fundamentally undermines encryption. Full Stop,” said Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation (viaHacker News).
“Whether this happens via tampering with, for instance, an encryption algorithm’s random number generation, or by implementing a key escrow system, or by forcing communications to pass through a surveillance system before they’re encrypted.”
The EU have assured that “detection technologies must only be used for the purpose of detecting child sexual abuse. Providers will have to deploy technologies that are the least privacy-intrusive in accordance with the state of the art in the industry, and that limit the error rate of false positives to the maximum extent possible.”
Last autumn the UKbacked away from similar proposalswithin the Online Safety Bill to build a privacy backdoor and undermine the end-to-end encryption of conversations. WhatsApp and Signal threatened to withdraw their apps from the UK market over the proposal.
You might like…
Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
