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This September saw the completion of a critical milestone for the construction of ESA's new deep space communication antenna in New Norcia, Australia: the lifting of the 122-tonne reflector dish.
Several formerly opposed governments such as France have already given up their opposition. Several still critical governments are only asking for small modifications (e.g. searching for “known content” only or excluding end-to-end encryption) which would still result in mass searches and leaks of our private communications. Therefore there is a real threat that the required majority for mass scanning of private communications may be achieved at any time under the current Hungarian presidency (Hungary being a supporter of the proposal).
That is why we now need to get involved and raise our voices to our governments and raise awareness in the wider population. → Previously supportive governments must be convinced to change their minds → Critical governments need to be pushed to demand comprehensive changes, as proposed by the European Parliament, and not just minor changes to the proposal.
In the absence of such fundamental revision, the proposal should be rejected altogether. This map (feel free to share online!) visualises EU governments positions on chat control in June, also summarised in the table below. It helps you understand where your government stands and can help you start your journey as a digital rights advocate against chat control in your country. You will find some helpful resources below.
Is your government in favour? → Ask for an explanation and for your government to revert its course.
Is your government abstaining? → Ask why and demand that they take a strong stance against chat control.
Is your government opposing? → Great, but take a closer look at the reasoning: Some governments like Germany e.g. only object to the scanning of encrypted communications, but are fine with the indiscriminate scanning of other private and public communication, with the end of anonymous communication by requiring age verification, or with introducing a minimum age for “risky” communication apps. Also critical governments need to do more, exert their influence in the Council of the EU and agree on a joint list of necessary fundamental changes to the proposal. Absent such revision they should ask the European Commission to withdraw the chat control proposal as it stands.
Where your government stands on chat control
**In favour**
**Abstained**
**Opposed the proposal**
Belgium
Estonia
Germany
Bulgaria
Netherlands
Poland
Croatia
Slovenia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Austria
Finland
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Take action now
These are ideas for what you can do in the short-term or with some preparation. Start with:
Ask you government to call on the European Commission to withdraw the chat control proposal. Point them to a joint letter that was recently sent by children’s rights and digital rights groups from across Europe. Click here to find the letter and more information.
Check your government’s position (see above) and, if they voted in favour or abstained, ask them to explain why. Tell them that as a citizen you want them to reject the proposal, that chat control is widely criticised by experts and that none of the proposals tabled in the Council of the EU so far are acceptable. Ask them to protect the privacy of your communication and your IT security.
Share this call to action online.
When reaching out to your government, the ministries of the interior (in the lead) of justice and of digitisation/telecommunications/economy are your best bet. You can additionally contact the permanent representation of your country with the EU.
It can also be useful to reach out to Members of your national Parliament who can determine your country’s vote. Talk to your political representatives. Whether it is the newly elected MEPs of the European Parliament or local groups of the political parties: make sure everyone is aware of what chat control is about and that you expect politicians to defend your fundamental rights against the proposal!
When contacting politicians, writing a real letter, calling in or attending a local party event or visiting a local office to have a conversation will have a stronger impact than writing an e-mail. You can find contact details on their websites. Just remember that while you should be determined in your position, remain polite, as they will otherwise disregard what you have to say. Here is useful argumentation on chat control. And here is argumentation for why the minor modifications so far envisioned by EU governments fail to address the dangers of chat control: by us, by EDRi, by CDT.
As we continue the fight against against chat control, we need to expand the resistance:
Explain to your friends why this is an important topic. This short video, translated to all European languages, is a good start – feel free to use and share it. Also available on PeerTube (EN) and .
Taking action works better and is more motivating when you work together. So try to find allies and form alliances. Whether it is in a local hackspace or in a sports club: your local action group against chat control can start anywhere. Then you can get creative and decide which type of action suits you best.
Take action now. We are the resistance against chat control!
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Le forze dell'ordine hanno recentemente hackerato Ghost , una piattaforma di comunicazioni crittografate che le autorità sostengono fosse utilizzata da criminali organizzati di alto livello, e hanno ottenuto l'accesso ai messaggi degli utenti. Ora, indipendentemente da ciò, un ricercatore di sicurezza ha trovato molteplici problemi evide
Un ricercatore di sicurezza è riuscito a estrarre un elenco di utenti Ghost, rivenditori e persino messaggi di assistenza clienti da un server esposto. Mostra come, man mano che i criminali organizzati si spostano verso la creazione delle proprie piattaforme crittografate, potrebbero creare prodotti vulnerabili.
Le forze dell'ordine hanno recentemente hackerato Ghost , una piattaforma di comunicazioni crittografate che le autorità sostengono fosse utilizzata da criminali organizzati di alto livello, e hanno ottenuto l'accesso ai messaggi degli utenti. Ora, indipendentemente da ciò, un ricercatore di sicurezza ha trovato molteplici problemi evidenti con l'infrastruttura di Ghost, compresi quelli che gli hanno permesso di estrarre un lungo elenco di nomi utente Ghost e messaggi di assistenza clienti da un server Ghost esposto al pubblico.
Quando Ghost ha iniziato a fare affidamento "sul proprio codice, non su quello di un'azienda, è allora che ci si è resi conto del disastro assoluto che stava succedendo", ha detto a 404 Media in una chat online Jamieson O'Reilly, fondatore e responsabile della sicurezza offensiva della società di sicurezza informatica Dvuln.
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