People aren’t generally sending CSAM using mainstream messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. Both of those services are connected to your phone number so it’s an unnecessary risk to take for pedophiles. Exchange of CSAM materials happens much more on the dark web and on less mainstream platforms which I will not name because I don’t want to inadvertently aid anyone seeking it. Those platforms aren’t going to give a shit about the UK’s law. So this law wouldn’t even accomplish what it claims to be attempting to do.
this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2023
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So this law wouldn’t even accomplish what it claims to be attempting to do.
That's because "think of the children" was only a fig leaf over an attempt to impose massive state surveillance.
That’s because “think of the children” was only a fig leaf over an attempt to impose massive state surveillance.
It's always either pedophiles or terrorists when it comes to trying to promote laws against encrypted communications.
Absolutely - I know that is absolutely the case. I just wanted to explain that even if we accept that it would be worth sacrificing privacy to protect children, this bill wouldn't even accomplish it.
Indeed, they're just relying on your average Daily Mail reader to not ponder this too much and they've already demonstrated that they're hard-of-thinking by buying the Daily Mail.
It'll be interesting seeing the reaction when all the chat groups they are in disappear over night. They'll not think it's a good idea then. Although, that said, I don't know anyone who thinks it's a good idea now. This seems to just be being forced through by a dying government because they can.
Signal has vocally opposed the UK bill and said it may pull out of the country if it’s passed in its current form. Meta has said the same for WhatsApp. Smaller companies, like Element, which provides secure messaging to governments—including the UK government—and militaries, say they may also have to leave.
I was thinking about trying to get everyone I know to switch to Matrix but, if Element goes, that could knock that on the head or will it be down to those operating Matrix instances?
Element is just a front-end for Matrix - you can self-host Element and there's nothing the government can do about it - short of a police raid to shut down your home server.
I wanted to avoid it if I could, so I could offer friends and family a good general solution not making them beholden to my tyrannical whims, and it looks like the main thing Element will be doing is withdrawing the app from the general app stores. Which seems like the very minimum required to comply. I'm not sure if matrix.org will still work in the UK but most instances should unless the government block them. In which case I can self-host.
It’s probably a good idea to avoid very big instances such as matrix.org anyways for the benefit of decentralisation. If matrix.org does become unavailable for the UK, it could become messy, since it’s unclear how well matrix will work without matrix.org as a reliable default instance for interoperation