Europe's New War on Privacy
12 days ago
- #Privacy
- #Surveillance
- #EU
- The EU's Chat Control proposal, aimed at scanning private messages to detect child sexual abuse material, faced public resistance but was repackaged and pushed forward.
- Critics argue that Chat Control risks becoming a blueprint for mass surveillance, violating privacy and fundamental rights.
- A revised version, 'Chat Control 2.0', removes mandatory monitoring but still encourages voluntary mass scanning and introduces mandatory age-verification systems.
- Experts warn that AI-driven scanning is flawed, leading to false positives and exposing innocent conversations to scrutiny.
- Article 4 of the proposal could pressure encrypted messaging services to enable scanning, undermining their security models.
- Mandatory age-verification systems are criticized as technologically unworkable and invasive, potentially ending anonymous online communication.
- Opponents argue that mass surveillance is ineffective against child exploitation and propose targeted measures with judicial oversight.
- Function creep is a concern, where surveillance tools expand beyond their original purpose, potentially enabling political repression.
- The proposal risks compromising secure encryption and shifting investigative responsibility to opaque corporate algorithms.
- The EU is poised to adopt legislation that contradicts previous rulings by the EU Court of Justice on privacy rights.