cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/12846267
After Sunday‘s European elections, the EU is planning to reintroduce indiscriminate communications data retention without suspicion and force manufacturers to allow law enforcement access to digital devices such as smartphones and cars.
Specifically, according to the 42-point surveillance plan, manufacturers are to be legally obliged to make digital devices such as smartphones, smart homes, IoT devices, and cars monitorable at all times (“access by design”). Messenger services that were previously securely encrypted are to be forced to allow for interception.
The secure encryption of metadata and subscriber data is to be prohibited. Where requested by the police, GPS location tracking should be activated by service providers (“tracking switch”).
The EU Commission has already contributed specific proposals to the surveillance plan, according to two presentations obtained by the Pirates.
Make sure to vote in the upcoming elections!
#1 I’m pretty important for me and a hypothetical person with some govt connections whom I’d call sheepfscker and SOAB in a heated argument, or just show that I don’t respect them. These are legal, or warrant a fine possibly, but don’t warrant that person using such connections to get at my private communications or something like that, which would become a real possibility.
#2 If they wouldn’t give a single shit, then it’s very strange they are being so swift and stealthy about introducing legislation affecting mostly that. Not targeted attacks at suspects (which are not too hard for competent people anyway), but watching everyone.
#3 Terrorists and whistleblowers and people who need help against domestic abuse or mafia or whatever else are interested in the same tooling here. A healthy society can continue to exist after a successful terrorist attack. It can’t without whistleblowers and ways to have confidentiality in general.