EARN IT will affect all encryption software, not just Signal. This bill is just the newest way Congress is trying to enforce required backdoors in all apps/devices. Last time it was under the guise of protecting us from terrorists, this time it's under the guise of protecting the children from pedophiles. I wonder what they'll try next time, when this inevitably fails again.
I feel like as soon as someone uses a "think of the children" argument they immediately invalidate any point they may have had. It's a total cop out argument. I wish more people could see through it.
Like food, health care, and education. Encryption is not the reason human trafficking exists. Poverty is the reason it exists. The separation of wealth is the reason it exists.
To be fair even if they get what they think they it will fail and then they'll pout and try to move the goal posts again like how the DMCA failed to stop piracy or DRM from being cracked.
Of course indulging their utter folly leaves us all worse off so we need to stop them. I notably haven't gotten even an email or after sending an email calling out EARN IT as downright nationally suicidal given the how much of the US economy is dependent upon secure cryptography, and the obvious relationship between GDP and power, and that if they gave a damn about the children they would be investing more in social services and investigation instead of trying to seize more power.
Not sure if I reached them or got it put in a proverbial circular file or "enemies list/ban from volunteering as disgruntled" by a staffer but the fact they didn't send a "for the children" form letter bullshit is somewhat reassuring that it reached a real human and they at least recognized one case of "too pissed to even try to form letter bullshit" is a small victory and enough negative tickmarks to say "this is a bad plan" is the current win condition.
Of course a large victory would be dropping from sponsorship but that would be near impossible even if I was a connected great speaker who called him out in person.
No, because if the government wants to inspect DRM-encrypted media for some reason they can simply play it like any other customer, or order the company that encrypted it to provide an unencrypted version.
"This product is designed with the highest levels of security in order to keep you safe from criminals and other illicit actors on the internet. Because of this, it has been deemed inappropriate for use by citizens of the USA by the EARN IT act. Until this changes, it is only available outside of US jurisdiction. Please contact your congressional representatives for more information"
The federal government enjoys a freely accessible and wide open back door to our entire financial system under the guise of protecting us from terrorists. What makes you so sure the same trick won't work again?
Most Americans don't seem to know enough about how the government uses the backdoor to care.
That’s a good point. I would like to plug taler here. There is no technical reason why the federal government needs to have access to all our financial information as far as I know.
> I wonder what they'll try next time, when this inevitably fails again.
We're at a major disadvantage, so I'm not sure where that optimism is coming from.
We have to stop it every time, and in every variation. On the other hand, they can keep trying over and over again.
I'd much rather see EFF and others working with congress to introduce laws that _prevent_ this kind of thing, saving the long sequence of future fights as this resurfaces under names. One of those fights, we're bound to lose.
If everybody who cares doesn't take a strong unrelenting stand against it, I will eventually pass.
Hitler had minority support when using backroom politics got his way.
