> What this may be politically is a way of the Government saying they won’t actually do it
But this is the problem: the Government is NOT saying they won't actually do it. They're saying "we'll do it (when we consider it technically feasible)". The ability to force 3rd party scanning software is STILL going into law, and that's the catastrophic bit!
It's terrifying that this story has been perceived as a victory, and therefore we can take the pressure off. The OSB is STILL on track to go into law giving the government the right to tell Signal or WhatsApp or Element etc that they either need to do compulsory scanning or they are breaking the law.
I am literally receiving emails from Element customers and suppliers which begin:
> Saw that the government backed down from their plans last night and immediately thought of Element – you must be pleased!
...which just leaves me speechless. I'm almost wondering if there's a deliberate misinformation campaign here to prematurely claim victory in order to derail the attempt to protect encryption in the bill.
> "We haven't changed the bill at all," she told Times Radio.
> "If there was a situation where the mitigations that the social media providers are taking are not enough, and if after further work with the regulator they still can't demonstrate that they can meet the requirements within the bill, then the conversation about technology around encryption takes place," she said.
But this is the problem: the Government is NOT saying they won't actually do it. They're saying "we'll do it (when we consider it technically feasible)". The ability to force 3rd party scanning software is STILL going into law, and that's the catastrophic bit!
It's terrifying that this story has been perceived as a victory, and therefore we can take the pressure off. The OSB is STILL on track to go into law giving the government the right to tell Signal or WhatsApp or Element etc that they either need to do compulsory scanning or they are breaking the law.
I am literally receiving emails from Element customers and suppliers which begin:
> Saw that the government backed down from their plans last night and immediately thought of Element – you must be pleased!
...which just leaves me speechless. I'm almost wondering if there's a deliberate misinformation campaign here to prematurely claim victory in order to derail the attempt to protect encryption in the bill.