In an essay on the current justification for authorities in the EU and around the globe seeking to break end-to-end-encryption to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation, researcher Susan Landau discusses the issue in historical context, and explains why breaking encryption leads us in the wrong direction.
“Think differently. Think long term. Think about protecting the privacy and security of all members of society—children and adults alike. By failing to consider the big picture, the U.K. Online Safety Act has taken a dangerous, short-term approach to a complex societal problem. The EU and U.S. have the chance to avoid the U.K.’s folly; they should do so. The EU proposal and the U.S. bills are not sensible ways to approach the public policy concerns of online abetting of CSAE [Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation]. Nor are these reasonable approaches in view of the cyber threats our society faces. The bills should be abandoned, and we should pursue other ways of protecting both children and adults.”
[Edit typo.]
Anytime politicans want something deeply unpopular, they always try to make it about the kids. You can see it, in the US, with the culture war BS supposedly for the ‘kids’.
Because otherwise they would have to admit they want to either force their religion onto others, or just the ability of spying on others.
Or it’s also because they’re trying to hijack people’s maternal/paternal instincts. It’s just an easy way of manipulating parents espically.
It is really no different from e.g. religions telling you sex is sinful because they know everyone has some sexual thoughts so they can sell you the “solution” to a self-invented eternal problem or gaming loot boxes. Psychological manipulation basically.
Or Terrorism, or Copyright…
Now with the Gaza conflict, you can bet that ‘terrorists’ will become a prime scapegoat for those kinds of laws again.