@failedLyndonLaRouchite @anildash No, #OSB wanted America to become the police state that the Middle East was.

#UK #OSB #Surveillance #Encryption #Privacy #DataProtection: "Let’s be clear: weak statements by government ministers, such as the hedging from Lord Parkinson during this week’s debate, are no substitute for real privacy rights.

Nothing in the law’s text has changed. The OSB gives the U.K. government the right to order message and photo-scanning, and that will harm the privacy and security of internet users worldwide. These powers, enshrined in Clause 122 of the OSB, are now set to become law. After that, the regulator in charge of enforcing the law, Ofcom, will have to devise and publish a set of regulations regarding how the law will be enforced.

Several companies that provide end-to-end encrypted services have said they will withdraw from the U.K. if Ofcom actually takes the extreme choice of requiring examination of currently encrypted messages. Those companies include Meta-owned WhatsApp, Signal, and U.K.-based Element, among others.

While it’s the last minute, Members of Parliament still could introduce an amendment with real protections for user privacy, including an explicit protection for real end-to-end encryption."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/uk-government-knows-how-extreme-online-safety-bill

Britain admits defeat in its controversial fight to break encryption.

Tech companies and privacy activists are claiming victory after an eleventh-hour concession by the British government.

The UK government has admitted that the technology needed to securely scan encrypted messages sent on Signal and WhatsApp doesn’t exist, weakening its controversial Online Safety Bill.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/britain-admits-defeat-in-online-safety-bill-encryption

#UK #OnlineSafetyBill #OSB #Internet #WhatsApp #Signal #Encryption #Legal #Law

#UK #OSB #Cybersecurity #Encryption #Privacy #Surveillance: "Although the UK government has said that it now won’t force unproven technology on tech companies, and that it essentially won’t use the powers under the bill, the controversial clauses remain within the legislation, which is still likely to pass into law. “It’s not gone away, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Woodward says.

James Baker, campaign manager for the Open Rights Group, a nonprofit that has campaigned against the law’s passage, says that the continued existence of the powers within the law means encryption-breaking surveillance could still be introduced in the future. “It would be better if these powers were completely removed from the bill,” he adds.

But some are less positive about the apparent volte-face. “Nothing has changed,” says Matthew Hodgson, CEO of UK-based Element, which supplies end-to-end encrypted messaging to militaries and governments. “It’s only what’s actually written in the bill that matters. Scanning is fundamentally incompatible with end-to-end encrypted messaging apps. Scanning bypasses the encryption in order to scan, exposing your messages to attackers. So all ‘until it’s technically feasible’ means is opening the door to scanning in future rather than scanning today. It’s not a change, it’s kicking the can down the road.”"

https://www.wired.com/story/britain-admits-defeat-online-safety-bill-encryption/

No idea why people are claiming the UK has abandoned it's anti-encryption plans...

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66716502

#OSB #OnlineSafetyBill #UK

The UK is poised to force a bad law on the Internet.

WhatsApp and Signal have threatened to shut down services in Britain if the Online Safety Bill includes restrictions that undermine encryption. The government is pushing it through anyway.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-uk-is-poised-to-force-a-bad-law-on-the-internet

#UK #OnlineSafetyBill #OSB #Internet #WhatsApp #Signal #Encryption #Legal #Law

#UK Online Safety Bill Will Mandate Dangerous #AgeVerification for Much of the Web
#privacy #osb #onlinesafetybill
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/uk-online-safety-bill-will-mandate-dangerous-age-verification-much-web

A cracking post from Heather Burns on the relentless pushing of the Online "Safety" Bill, without it being fit for purpose.

https://webdevlaw.uk/2023/09/01/thats-no-moonshot/

#UKPol #OSB #OnlineSafetyBill

#UK #OSB #Encryption #Surveillance #Cybersecurity: "It’s a 21st-century form of prior restraint, violating the very essence of free speech. It’s a death knell for end-to-end encryption, and with it, every internet user’s right to privacy.

Private communication is a fundamental human right, and in the online world, the best tool we have to defend this right is end-to-end encryption. It ensures that governments, tech companies, social media platforms, and other groups cannot view or access our private messages, the pictures we share with family and friends, or our bank account details. This is a particularly vital protection for the most vulnerable in society, such as children seeking relief from abuse or human rights defenders working in hostile environments."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/crackdowns-on-encrypted-messaging-dont-help-the-children

BUT WON'T YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN?

Criminals will use alternatives that don't have a back-door in them. The only compliant systems will be the legit ones that the general public will use. The government (and other nefarious types) will be able to view what you're up to, but the criminals will still be invisible to law enforcement. The #OSB and similar legislation being considered elsewhere will not protect the children, but it will harm others

#UK #OSB #Encryption #Cybersecurity #messaging : "The main criticism of the legislation to date has been on freedom of expression grounds. Critics have said it will have a chilling effect, encouraging tech giants to ban users who might get the platforms into trouble with the regulators. Now the companies are warning that the bill has a national security implication too.

Ukraine often uses messaging services to communicate securely with its allies, including the UK. The British armed forces and their allies also use services such as Signal alongside military communications systems. Do ministers really want to weaken western security? Have they thought this through?

If Signal and WhatsApp cannot be used on British-registered phones, anyone who needs access will presumably have to ship in a second, secure device from the US."

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/49f0ac72-3c66-11ee-81cd-1bf34cc855cb?shareToken=d65e5c7e06ed75bbcb822945be00dc25

#UK #OSB #Encryption #Cybersecurity: "Many of these companies are increasingly fed up.

Their "tipping point" is UK regulation - and it's coming at them thick and fast.

The Online Safety Bill is due to pass in the autumn. Aimed at protecting children, it lays down strict rules around policing social media content, with high financial penalties and prison time for individual tech execs if the firms fail to comply.

One clause that has proved particularly controversial is a proposal that encrypted messages, which includes those sent on WhatsApp, can be read and handed over to law enforcement by the platforms they are sent on, if there is deemed to be a national security or child protection risk.

The NSPCC children's charity has described encrypted messaging apps as the "front line" of where child abuse images are shared, but it is also seen as an essential security tool for activists, journalists and politicians."

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66304002

This is quite a useful and measured outline of the #onlinesafetybill. If I wrote anything it'd just say something purile like "what a bunch of asshats" but this person is quite nuanced and useful and includes best/worst case scenarios.

https://www.regulate.tech/online-safety-bill-some-futures-25th-july-2023/

#osb #ofcom #government

@Nika2022
Which is why the #OSB has a blanket exemption for email!

@Nika2022 In the UK we have the amusing situation of the Military using @element and the CEO saying the business will fold if the #OSB is implemented.

It is so unclear what is really driving politicians here other than stupidity.

Anyone using @simplex ? I would be keen to have a play around with it if you want to join in.

#OSB #ChatControl #e2ee #DataPrivacy

https://simplex.chat/

📬 Online Safety Bill soll Verschlüsselung weltweit abschaffen
#Datenschutz #Rechtssachen #Backdoors #EFF #InvestigatoryPowersAct #LucyFrazer #MessengerDienste #OnlineSafetyBill #OSB https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/it-sicherheit/datenschutz/online-safety-bill-soll-verschluesselung-weltweit-abschaffen-278959.html

#UK #OSB #OnlineSafetyBill #Cybersecurity #Privacy #Encruyption #Surveillance: "The U.K. Parliament is pushing ahead with a sprawling internet regulation bill that will, among other things, undermine the privacy of people around the world. The Online Safety Bill, now at the final stage before passage in the House of Lords, gives the British government the ability to force backdoors into messaging services, which will destroy end-to-end encryption. No amendments have been accepted that would mitigate the bill’s most dangerous elements.

If it passes, the Online Safety Bill will be a huge step backwards for global privacy, and democracy itself. Requiring government-approved software in peoples’ messaging services is an awful precedent. If the Online Safety Bill becomes British law, the damage it causes won’t stop at the borders of the U.K."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/uk-government-very-close-eroding-encryption-worldwide

Der Standpunkt der britischen Regierung zur #Privatsphäre ihrer Bürger beim #onlinesafetybill #osb scheint schon eher im krass-ignoranten-scheissegal-bereich zu liegen.

#Endezuende #verschlüsselung ist scheiße, weil unumgänglich - also wollen sie die Unternehmen zwingen #backdoors einzubauen. Der zuständige Minister sieht da auch keinen Konflikt mit der Privatsphäre - da erfänden die Unternehmen schon was. 🙈

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/uk-government-very-close-eroding-encryption-worldwide

Anyone thought about how #OSB and #ChatControl will be implemented on #Telegram? Their standard messaging is not #e2ee but they protect users from governments by keeping encrypted cloud storage and encryption keys *in different jurisdictions*. That way no single government can force them to give access to decrypted user data.