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Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

theregister.com

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Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#121

Post by lioeters »

trollbridge wrote: post #100
softwaredoug wrote: post #70

In the US we have tech companies complying with sketchy DHS subpoenas that don’t require warrants. We have DoJ targeting political enemies. We have FISA mass surveillance. It’s naive to think politically motivated surveillance can’t happen in the UK and elsewhere. Or to assume that only the “right people” will be the ones able to break encryption.

In the US we also have tech companies going out of their way to make their devices have strong encryption and be unbreakable.

And the marketing to make people believe it!

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#122

Post by hn_submit »

And water is wet.

Of course Brits are going to answer that they'd rather not have the government read their private correspondence. But at the same time there has been very little protest over draconian legislation in the UK like the Online Safety Act and RIPA Part 3 that cover just these aspects.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#123

Post by duxup »

hackersnooze1 wrote: post #62

I am not convinced they do, they keep voting to give away their privacy every year.

Yeah I’m inclined to agree. Even with choices of services and their choices on the internet… it’s just not a priority for most users in a way that matters.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#124

Post by IndySun »

ajsnigrutin wrote: post #120
IndySun wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was virtually 50/50 and should not have proceeded. The bar to leave was set too low. 2/3rd better, and larger turnout should have been mandated. 16 year olds should have voted. The campaign to stay too weak. Mass confusion. Some particularly pernicious lies on the leave side too convincing. Brexit wasn't 100% going to happen, it was more like... Leave 17,410,742 51.89% Remain 16,141,241 48.11%

But that's the point of democracy, whoever was interested in the isue, went out to vote, kids are too young to vote, and more than half of people interested enough to go out, voted to leave. You personally might have wanted to remain and wanted to raise the bar, but that's undemocratic, you can't just change the rules when you don't get the outcome you wanted. I'm not from Britain, honestly I don't care what you guys…

>kids are too young to vote

I said 16 yo should've had a Brexit vote/say because, especially in this case, it's the kids that reap the choices made.

More Generally 16 year olds are old enough to take part in democracy vote-wise, and maybe in all votes too. The point being - look at the short term, actually make that 'not long term', policies being made now by us olds, they don't favor young people, on the whole - or their children.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#125

Post by kQq9oHeAz6wLLS »

skippyboxedhero wrote: post #101
hackersnooze1 wrote: post #62

I am not convinced they do, they keep voting to give away their privacy every year.

No, they don't. Turnout in the UK has dropped significantly because it doesn't matter who you vote for, the outcome is the same.

Yes, completely giving up is definitely the better option.

/s

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#126

Post by dimitrios1 »

jbrooks84 wrote: post #45

Get over yourselves, nothing is private anymore

How nice it is to live in complete comfort with no worries whatsoever of your own government coming after you.

For many that lived during the times of the Stazi in East Germany, or late Soviet days, or currently in China and North Korea however...

Ask one of those people who survived those regimes and ask if they should "just get over yourself" -- it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#128

Post by SmashDan »

hawk_ wrote: post #63
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cameron put a Eurosceptic in charge of the Remain campaign, and Nick Clegg - supposedly an arch Remainer - went to work for Meta after Cambridge Analytica and its contribution to Brexit became public knowledge. The public were conned. The oligarch-adjacent ruling faction of the ruling class knew exactly what they were doing, the lack of specificity for any Leave plan was deliberate, the lies and propaganda were cynic…

I blame Corbyn as much as Cameron if not more. Corbyn was supposed to represent the working class but because Remain could have benefited some Tories he backstabbed the working class and at least a whole generation if not 2 and for what?

Corbyn is an old school leftist and has been anti-EU for a long long time. It's completely unsurprising he was no use here.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#129

Post by derwiki »

trollbridge wrote: post #100
softwaredoug wrote: post #70

In the US we have tech companies complying with sketchy DHS subpoenas that don’t require warrants. We have DoJ targeting political enemies. We have FISA mass surveillance. It’s naive to think politically motivated surveillance can’t happen in the UK and elsewhere. Or to assume that only the “right people” will be the ones able to break encryption.

In the US we also have tech companies going out of their way to make their devices have strong encryption and be unbreakable.

Maybe I’m naive: I can believe the e2e encryption happens, but it takes a lot of faith to believe there’s no front-end telemetry that would render that ineffective.

Re: Brits would quite like their private messages to stay private

#130

Post by kQq9oHeAz6wLLS »

roenxi wrote: post #113
TulliusCicero wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno about 2/3rds, but there should definitely be some kind of supermajority required for things like joining or leaving the EU. Even a 55% requirement would be a lot better than a simple majority imo.

Did they even have a referendum on joining the EU? Just skimming through, it looks like [0] they only had a referendum on EEC membership which sounds like it would predate the EU. It is a bit of an unfair ratchet where people can sidle in to the EU but require strong consensuses to leave. It should be symmetrical. Particularly when the scope of the EU seems to be a bit vague and regularly expanding to micromanage var…

This brings to mind the government set up in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: it takes 2/3rds to pass a law, but only 1/3rd to repeal it.

The thinking being if a law isn't good/useful enough to garner 2/3rd support, it shouldn't be law. And if a law is so bad that it can't even get more than 1/3rd the people to support it, it should no longer be a law.

Sadly, I don't think it'd work today. People are too divided, it's too easy to import the votes you need, and people are too lazy to understand a law beyond the headline or what the news tells them about it.

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