The best technology to protect that right is end-to-end encryption.
2023 has been a year of unprecedented threats to encryption and privacy.
In the US, three Senate bills were introduced that, in our view, would discourage, weaken, or create backdoors into encryption technology.
With your help, we've stopped all three from moving forward-and we'll continue to do so in the year to come.
Simply put, EARN IT allows providers of secure communications services to be sued or prosecuted.
The excuse for EARN IT is to combat online child abuse.
There's no doubt that the purpose of this bill is to scan user messages, photos, and files.
In a Q&A document published last year, the bill sponsors even suggested specific software that could be used to monitor users.
If you offer your users encrypted services, the bill specifically allows the fact that you offered encryption to constitute evidence against you in court.
If EARN IT passes, it will push companies to either stop using encryption services or even create a dangerous backdoor to encryption that would weaken privacy and security for everyone.
We were disappointed that EARN IT passed through a committee vote, although heartened that more senators expressed concerns with the bill's effects.
EARN IT has not seen a vote on the Senate floor, and we're continuing to express our strong opposition, together with other groups that are concerned about human rights and privacy.
Anyone who has actual knowledge of such images on a service they control is required to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which then forwards reports to law enforcement agencies.
That's why we were surprised and disappointed to see some Senators introduced a bill that falsely suggests this existing law-enforcement framework would work better with the addition of mass surveillance.
STOP CSAM is one more attempt to criminalize and demonize anyone who uses encryption to communicate online.
That's why we've opposed it throughout the year.
This bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but has not received a vote on the Senate floor.
This bill is a misguided attempt to deal with the nation's fentanyl crisis by turning your smartphone into a DEA informant.
Faced with massive potential punishments, service providers will inevitably censor a wide variety of communications about drugs-including peoples' descriptions of their own experiences, and even attempts to support others who are trying to get social or medical help with an addiction problem.
The bill was passed in committee in a 16-5 vote in July, but has not received a vote on the Senate floor.
This Cyber News was published on www.eff.org. Publication date: Sun, 24 Dec 2023 17:43:06 +0000