European Parliament's negotiators reached a broad majority agreement this week on a common position concerning the controversial EU chat control bill, which threatened to undermine privacy and encryption across the internet. The European Parliament’s position, agreed upon by all parties, removes indiscriminate bulk scanning and automated reporting of private messages … [Read more...] about EU Parliament Moves to Protect Privacy
Encryption
Public Consultation on Lawful Interception
India has become the latest democracy to contemplate legislation to undermine encryption and privacy, and has issued a consultation paper seeking public input. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has announced a "Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services". One of the queries is … [Read more...] about Public Consultation on Lawful Interception
PACC concerned with ‘deeply problematic’ Cybersecurity Bill C-26
The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-26: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts. In addition to granting the government sweeping new powers, the Bill's vague and permissive language jeopardizes the ability of privacy and access practitioners to fulfill their professional … [Read more...] about PACC concerned with ‘deeply problematic’ Cybersecurity Bill C-26
New proposal to combat CSAM
On October 10th, EU Commissioner Johansson will present a proposal for new rules that would oblige providers to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material on their services. Providers would also need to assess and mitigate the risk of misuse of their services, while any measures taken must be proportionate to that risk and subject to robust conditions and safeguards. … [Read more...] about New proposal to combat CSAM
New legislated threat to privacy
India joins Canada and the UK in introducing new legislation that threatens end-to-end encryption. The new provisions authorize the government to direct the interception and disclosure of any messages or communications — including those on fixed and mobile services, internet and broadband services, satellite-based communication services, in-flight and marine communications. as … [Read more...] about New legislated threat to privacy
Encryption HRIA
Signaling a major shift in the way Meta approaches users' privacy, the company recently announced plans to make all of its messaging services — WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram DMs — end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). As part of its initiative, Meta commissioned a human rights impact assessment (HRIA), which concluded that, "Meta’s planned expansion of strong … [Read more...] about Encryption HRIA