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Cameron considering a ban on iMessage, Snapchat, etc

Her

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    Use Snapchat or WhatsApp to keep in touch with British relatives? You might want to enjoy that while it lasts.

    As the British general election campaign begins and European tension mounts over the recent Paris attacks, Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested banning encrypted messaging services if British intelligence agencies were not allowed access to the communications. Snapchat, Apple's iMessage, and WhatsApp all encrypt the messages sent through their applications, along with innumerable other services.

    "Are we going to allow a means of communications which it simply isn't possible to read?" he asked during a campaign speech. "My answer to that is: 'No, we must not.'"

    Cameron suggested the measures would come as part of large-scale surveillance legislation which his Conservative government would implement if re-elected.

    The Telegraph notes that companies such as WhatsApp have generally remained committed to keeping their services encrypted, making the ban more likely.

    Cameron has previously attempted to block all online porn in Britain by default.

    How such a ban on so many popular services would be implemented remains unclear. The services concerned are yet to comment.
    Click to expand...

    david cameron always brings me a good laugh
     

    Lawandorder

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    • I guess that images speak a lot better that words:
    Cameron considering a ban on iMessage, Snapchat, etc
     
    obZen

    obZen

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    • I was reading the Electronic Frontier Foundation's response to this.
    EFF said:
    Mass surveillance doesn't only infringe on our privacy, but also our ability to speak freely. As a recent PEN American study found, for writers around the world, surveillance has the effect of chilling speech. The knowledge, or even the perception of surveillance, can prompt writers to think twice before touching upon a given issue.
    Click to expand...

    As usual, the magnifying glass gets placed onto whatever "issue" is at hand, at the aftermath of a tragedy.
    In this case, encrypted messaging, is the target. It's already drawn criticism from the FBI.

    IIRC, there's no determination of what software was used in the attack just yet, except maybe a GoPro camera. They haven't even caught the attacker yet.
    Also, iOS? WhatsApp? SNAPCHAT?

    I doubt any attacker would use Snapchat, let alone these others.
    If anything, they might use RedPhone or TextSecure.
    However, I'm sure they used burner phones, like good old fashioned criminals.

    The sad thing is, everyone and their mother is going to become a damn "expert" about online privacy and encryption, and everyone is gonna act like their lives are physically affected by the NSA spying and by online privacy. Also, there's that "imminent" terrorist attack ready to happen that really makes people shake in the beds at night.

    I gives things ~6 months after the attacker is caught before all is forgotten and then everyone returns to lives of ignorant bliss.
     
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    Cerberus87

    Cerberus87

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    • Cameron should go fuck himself. I don't want the government, any government, snitching on my doings.

    I consider spying on another country's citizens (like the USA loves to do) to be a violation of sovereignty of the country that's spied on. It's even worse if the country allows itself to be spied on (as has been rumored to be the case with Germany).
     
    Nah

    Nah

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    How does one even ban iMessage, Snapchat, etc?

    Cerberus87 said:
    I consider spying on another country's citizens (like the USA loves to do) to be a violation of sovereignty of the country that's spied on. It's even worse if the country allows itself to be spied on (as has been rumored to be the case with Germany).
    Click to expand...
    Everyone is spying on everyone else, and has been since the idea of spying was first thought up. Not saying whether spying is wrong or not, but that it's rather impractical to not spy on other nations.

    But I don't get why Cameron wants to ban messaging services that encrypt their messages because the British intelligence agency "can't read the messages". lol yeah right, it's fucking Snapchat and iMessage, not the Pentagon's mainframe or something. Cameron, you have one of the best intelligence agencies at your disposal, I think your guys can crack whatever encryption system those things are using.
     
    Her

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    Zekrom said:
    But I don't get why Cameron wants to ban messaging services that encrypt their messages because the British intelligence agency "can't read the messages". lol yeah right, it's fucking Snapchat and iMessage, not the Pentagon's mainframe or something. Cameron, you have one of the best intelligence agencies at your disposal, I think your guys can crack whatever encryption system those things are using.
    Click to expand...

    I'm sure they can & probably have, so if anything, this is probably an attempt at a legal formality.
     
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    Cerberus87

    Cerberus87

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    • Zekrom said:
    Everyone is spying on everyone else, and has been since the idea of spying was first thought up. Not saying whether spying is wrong or not, but that it's rather impractical to not spy on other nations.
    Click to expand...

    They're supposed to spy on military activity not random civilians! And my example (Germany) is allies with the USA.
     
    Rogue planet

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    It's just the porn block in a different guise, which of course just faded away and was forgotten about. The same will happen with this. I don't think he even believes in it himself, he knows he has no supporters amongst the youth so desperately tries to appeal to technologically incompetent adults.

    He does the same thing in different forms all the time; he knows anyone with more than a few braincells doesn't trust him at all so just tries to appeal to those who are fearful and/or ignorant. or is that just all politicians?

    @ everyone asking why he's targetting these services. He isn't. He just made a broad statement about unencrypted communication, and the connection to IM apps was made by commentators to showcase how idiotic he is.
     
    Last edited:

    Kanzler

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    • Gold warehouse said:
    @ everyone asking why he's targetting these services. He isn't. He just made a broad statement about unencrypted communication, and the connection to IM apps was made by commentators to showcase how idiotic he is.
    Click to expand...

    I agree with this assertion. It's just an example of dog whistle politics - he's communicating his support for further surveillance to his constituents who are into that sort of thing without saying "let's increase surveillance on society" because that would sound dystopic to anybody.
     
    Gardevoir the Dragon Slayer

    Gardevoir the Dragon Slayer

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    • Gold warehouse said:
    It's just the porn block in a different guise, which of course just faded away and was forgotten about. The same will happen with this. I don't think he even believes in it himself, he knows he has no supporters amongst the youth so desperately tries to appeal to technologically incompetent adults.

    He does the same thing in different forms all the time; he knows anyone with more than a few braincells doesn't trust him at all so just tries to appeal to those who are fearful and/or ignorant. or is that just all politicians?

    @ everyone asking why he's targetting these services. He isn't. He just made a broad statement about unencrypted communication, and the connection to IM apps was made by commentators to showcase how idiotic he is.
    Click to expand...

    I think Goldwarehouse has covered the issue spot on here.

    Cameron as a politician likes to throw bones to certain groups of voters by saying things but never following them up (This will be for the benefit of 1. people terrified of terrorism and 2. Parents who want their kids off online messaging services) he does the same on Immigration and leaving the EU to try and appeal to traditional conservative voters and his latest "Northern Powerhouse" policy to win votes in Northern England.

    Here in the UK as a whole we have far to much surveillance (in terms of CCTV I think we have the most CCTV cameras per head in our Towns and Cities compared to the rest of Europe and even the world yet out crime rate is still appallingly high compared to other states).
    Also am not a fan of the "You have nothing to worry about about if you have nothing to hide" argument to justify a reduction in personal privacy.
     
    Mana1

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    Depending on the circumstances, I don't really mind my messages being somewhat accessible to the government. Like, I'm pretty certain they don't sit there reading every text message in existence anyway - surely they only track suspicious-activity numbers or ones that flag up concern with their words used, etc.

    99.9% of people would never be affected negatively by being monitored by the government in this way. Of course, there's the danger of leaked information - but these days that seems like a permanent risk with online data.



    //Not denying the Cameron-game thing, he'll be trying anything to stay in power.
     
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    TRIFORCE89

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    • "Are we going to allow a means of communications which it simply isn't possible to read?" he asked during a campaign speech. "My answer to that is: 'No, we must not.'"

    Umm... yes we should?

    That was a really definitive-sounding statement despite being completely wrong
     
    Livewire

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    • "Well times are dangerous and uncertain so basically give me carte blanche to supplant your freedoms lololol" - Cameron

    Politically capitalizing on the Hebdo attack to try and advance his government surveillance agenda is pretty sick of him to do. And yes, mass U.S./NSA-style surveillance and spying is bad, but don't pretend that we're the only ones that do so. Everybody spies on everyone else, friend or foe. David Cameron knows what's in Angela Merkel's closet, and she knows what's in his, so to speak.
     
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