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Shirasaki

macrumors P6
May 16, 2015
15,746
11,099
Here we are. UK becomes the first democratic country to ban encryption, something I mentioned years ago. Now let’s see all websites in UK become http instead of https, outlaw VPN, disable passwords for login in any and all scenarios (such as authorising purchases online), meanwhile criminals keep using other E2E and continue to evade protection. Wonder how much damage banning encryption would cause before enough people stand up and protest against banning encryption. Oh wait, protesting is also illegal.
 

MuppetGate

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2012
651
1,086
Your argument doesn’t make any sense, because there’s noting stopping governments from forcing companies to scan for whatever they want right now. There’s no need to implement this extremely long-winded work around. As it is now, with a warrant, the government can access all your data on cloud servers. If Apple was able to provide E2E on all your data, no one would be able to access that data except you. They can’t do that now because they are responsible for making sure their servers do not contain CSAM material. If they don’t identify this material that makes them an indirect distributor.

Second, it would also be extremely easy to verify what photos are being flagged by the database by just looking at the photos…. we would know really fast if that was the case. Furthermore the database is maintained and distributed by a private, non-profit missing childrens organization, not the US government or any other government. A copy of the database is kept on your device (where an image is hashed and compared before it’s uploaded to iCloud Photos) and on Apple’s servers, these are compared with the original database to make sure there’s no discrepancies.

And… you really don’t think 3rd party auditors aren’t in place to make sure the database is legit?

I think 3rd party auditors won’t amount to a hill of beans when they’re supplied by the government, or more likely won’t exist at all in countries where Apple is told to use a particular database because it’s the law. And Apple will always comply with the law. Or do you think Apple will refuse any request by the Chinese government to match against any database they’re told to match against? Apple’s track record of refusing China’s request isn‘t that great.

Of course you won’t be able to verify the photos because you won’t be able to see them.

Could governments have done this already? Sure. But what‘s easier: getting folk to put spyware onto their own phones, or relying on the phone manufacturer to do it for them, then force them to open the system to you.

I’ve seen a lot of folks regurgitating Apple’s press blurb about 3rd party auditors, but no one has come up with an answer to how they’ll resist attempts to open up the spyware to government surveillance, other than “We will refuse”. Because when Apple is looking at a sales ban in China, they will quietly cave.


I mean if Priti Patel, home secretary who wants the navy to attack refugees in dinghies, thinks it’s a good idea, then I’m afraid you’ve landed on the wrong side.

 
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bmustaf

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2007
601
1,166
Telluride, CO
The flaw in your logic is that the UK is not responsible for the safety and welfare for every child in the whole wide world, individual countries must be forced to take responsible action to protect their countries children and if they do not then the UN should intervene or NATO.

In this matter the UK should only look to be protecting it's own children.
When they are part of allied coalitions that conduct these operations, yes, they, actually *do* have a burden to protect innocent children outside the UK. Plenty of UK-led and UK-involved operations have had "collateral damage" that didn't seem to have this "but the children!" anywhere on the list of priorities or risk-benefit.

And, if you want to look at the plight within the UK of children starving or being marginalized, it's not a flattering story or compelling to believe the "it's about the children, not the e2e encryption" line we are supposed to believe.
 

amartinez1660

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,601
1,636
Ok fine, I’ll accept having all my life out there in public if the government bodies themselves are willing to accept having all their confidentiality, diplomatic immunity and other political privacy/protections bs removed too. Heck, maybe add to that up-to-deadly punishment for corruption cases (which would be several fold easier to catch if they can’t really hide it legally).

I guess I would just stop chatting and get back to face to face conversation.
 

twistedpixel8

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2017
868
1,872
In an era, where our liberty is fast being eroded by all sorts of government edicts, executive actions, mandates, censorship, etc., do we really believe that we need the government to be able to look at our private communication Have we learned nothing from the Edward Snowden treasure trove?

I sure hope that the public in the U.K. is informed enough to vigorously oppose the current effort.

Looking back to how we voted on Brexit, I am effing terrified.
 

Powerbooky

macrumors demi-god
Mar 15, 2008
597
499
Europe
I get that encryption makes it harder to identify and find malicious actors. I really do.

But if the price is outlawing E2E encryption, that would be the definition of a Pyrrhic victory.

Indeed, this is a typical (and desperate) action from governments: attacking (one of) the symptoms while the actual problem persists and more arise. One cannot abolish secret communication, that's just impossible. Even kids invent their own secret languages and secret ways to communicate to hide something from their parents.

I'm afraid that it always will be old fashioned detective work. Banning some technology isn't the answer.
 
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canadianreader

macrumors 65816
Sep 24, 2014
1,143
3,172
The conservatives and the Far Right wants all your data.

They want to end safe browsing and messaging.

They want to put all your financial data on public ledgers so they can spy and control your behaviour and feed your personal spending into algos and ads.

But their rich donors and wealthy offshore class will make sure they are the only ones who won't be transparent.

Communists already done it in China now Conservatives are copying them.
 
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miniyou64

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2008
750
2,691
Your argument doesn’t make any sense, because there’s noting stopping governments from forcing companies to scan for whatever they want right now. There’s no need to implement this extremely long-winded work around. As it is now, with a warrant, the government can access all your data on cloud servers. If Apple was able to provide E2E on all your data, no one would be able to access that data except you. They can’t do that now because they are responsible for making sure their servers do not contain CSAM material. If they don’t identify this material that makes them an indirect distributor.

Second, it would also be extremely easy to verify what photos are being flagged by the database by just looking at the photos…. we would know really fast if that was the case. Furthermore the database is maintained and distributed by a private, non-profit missing childrens organization, not the US government or any other government. A copy of the database is kept on your device (where an image is hashed and compared before it’s uploaded to iCloud Photos) and on Apple’s servers, these are compared with the original database to make sure there’s no discrepancies.

And… you really don’t think 3rd party auditors aren’t in place to make sure the database is legit?
It’s unbelievably sad that there are people that actually trust the government and corporations like this. Wow.
 

bn-7bc

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
614
202
Arendal, Norway
This is just another of Ms Patels bright ideas to deflect a bit off spotlight from her boss, so that people and the media in peticular will care less about the latest scandal involving no 10(whatever that is today).
 

bn-7bc

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2008
614
202
Arendal, Norway
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I'd like ro thank you dfor yout contribution, alass I can't comment on it's contents doue to it being encrypted .....
 

haydn!

macrumors 65816
Nov 10, 2008
1,273
1,844
UK
I wouldn’t worry. Trust in our Government is at an all time low right now. Folks won’t pay attention and those that do will just end up advocates of the encryption simply to oppose the Govs position.
 

laptech

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2013
3,634
4,024
Earth
When you are personally affected by the harrowing prospect of a child of yours or a child relative of yours being sexually abused by their abusers and the police turn around and say 'sorry, there is nothing we can do to catch the abuser because we are unable to get into the end to end encryption the abuser was using, the right to privacy debate no longer has any relevance.

From the various UK investigations into child abuse it's a fact that abusers use devices that have end to end encryption to avoid detection and to avoid having their messages exposed because without enough evidence, the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) will not prosecute and the abusers know this. It is an extremely tough call to make, the right to privacy or the right to protect children.

I have young nieces and nephews. Would I give up my right to privacy knowing that in doing so it would help keep them safer and make it easier to find and arrest child abusers? Yes, of course I would.
 

Sophisticatednut

macrumors 68020
May 2, 2021
2,433
2,271
Scandinavia
The problem for tech companies that use end to end encryption on their messaging platforms is that for the past number of years the UK authourities have had a number of investigations running involving child related crimes and one of the things that has come out of these investigations is the amount of people involved using messaging systems that use end to end encryption to prevent law enforcement from checking messages, thereby thwarting law enforcement into taking action against those people.

Many have heard the term 'Guns are not the problem, it's the people that use them'. Well defenders of end to end encryption use the same, 'end to end encryption is not the problem, it's the people that use it'.

UK law enforcement want end to end encryption removed because it will enable them to catch people involved in child related crimes who use end to end encryption devices to message one another so they can evade the police.
Effectively the argument sounds like this:
Criminals lock their doors, making it hard for police to enter.

Therefore we must outlaw all locks in doors so nobody can lock their door.
 

laptech

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2013
3,634
4,024
Earth
Effectively the argument sounds like this:
Criminals lock their doors, making it hard for police to enter.

Therefore we must outlaw all locks in doors so nobody can lock their door.
You can make all the different type of analogies all you want but at the end of the day it boils down to this, what is more important to you, your right to privacy or the right to protect the safety of children?
 

groovebuster

macrumors 65816
Jan 22, 2002
1,249
101
3rd rock from the sun...
In an era, where our liberty is fast being eroded by all sorts of government edicts, executive actions, mandates, censorship, etc., do we really believe that we need the government to be able to look at our private communication Have we learned nothing from the Edward Snowden treasure trove?

I sure hope that the public in the U.K. is informed enough to vigorously oppose the current effort.
You mean, they have learned from the Brexit disaster? One can hope, ... but ...
 
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