AI can make you a basic signal for whatever group you want with zero oversight now anyway. The days of trying to proxy anti-encryption laws so you can spy on your people are numbered.
Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
41–50 of 299 posts
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#42> He warns that developers of apps like Signal and WhatsApp could technically fall within the legal definition of "hostile activity" simply because their technology "make[s] it more difficult for UK security and intelligence agencies to monitor communications. Sounds like Let's Encrypt would also fall under that. This has got to stop. If you want to stop criminals, then focus on their illegal activites, not the stree…
> This has got to stop. If you want to stop criminals, then focus on their illegal activites, not the streets they walk on. That would be against everything european governments stand for.
I don't understand why you got heavily downvoted.
Yes, there are governments that are worse than European, but the decline of European government is the fastest.
You may be surprised that the UK is the world leader in the number of people arrested because of internet posts. And that Germany, which is still way behind the UK, has more people arrested for the same reason than Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, and a few others combined.
And many people still believe that those countries are beacons of democracy while the others are backward dictatorships.
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#43UK has entirely gone off the deep end. The value they place on free speech is nearly zero. It may soon not be safe for authors of any privacy or encryption software to visit it or live in it. The way to fight this is to make and use so much encryption software that no private communications or storage stay unencrypted or non-private.
Westerners never had free speech in the first place. We are free to fight amongst one another, but if we ever act in a manner that endangers the Power that be, you don't live very long.
Thanks for saying the truth. Free speech is a concept that has been prostituted for political gain, but only for the already powerful. It has never been the case that you could publish the crimes of powerful people and get away with it. And especially now that US has embraced the path of authoritarianism and the government is actively harassing and ridiculing journalists, as well as pulling funding for libraries and schools, a cornerstone of democracy, freedom, and justice. Values the US has abandoned in exchange for oligarchy.
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#44It makes a lot of sense. Whoever wants to continue developing "these apps" will do it privately, and sell the service to those who want to keep doing things in hiding. Well done, watchdog! So again, it just harms the general public, while making it harder to catch criminals.
It's simpler than that. OSS strong encryption tools are available than anyone can run on the command line to encrypt their messages, which can then just go as attachments via email, whatsapp, etc. No new developers required. And as you say, the general public have to suffer with weak encryption while those who really want to encrypt do so regardless.
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#45Not unlike in Canada right now. The bill is stage 2 but proceeding. https://www.globalencryption.org/2025/09/open-letter-bill-c-...
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#46I think there is a point to this. I’m not saying I’m a fan. But the reality is that it is too simple to communicate secretly, and the government has an interest in protecting its citizens. This is true in many aspects. (Health, technology, electronics, traffic) Btw. The https communication comparison does not hold, there is always a third party that can read what you say. E2E chats are effectively communication where…
the problem with current government protecting its citizens by collecting their private communications is the next government having access to this sensitive data.
Yep, the next government may be evil tyranny, but it's beyond my comprehension why would I have to trust current or any government with the data I'm sure they'll abuse the moment they have it.
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#47Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#48> He warns that developers of apps like Signal and WhatsApp could technically fall within the legal definition of "hostile activity" simply because their technology "make[s] it more difficult for UK security and intelligence agencies to monitor communications. Sounds like Let's Encrypt would also fall under that. This has got to stop. If you want to stop criminals, then focus on their illegal activites, not the stree…
> This has got to stop. If you want to stop criminals, then focus on their illegal activites, not the streets they walk on. That would be against everything european governments stand for.
They're supposedly against genocide but that hasn't stopped them from shamelessly supporting one.
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This has got to stop. If you want to stop criminals, then focus on their illegal activites, not the streets they walk on. That would be against everything european governments stand for.
I don't understand why you got heavily downvoted. Yes, there are governments that are worse than European, but the decline of European government is the fastest. You may be surprised that the UK is the world leader in the number of people arrested because of internet posts. And that Germany, which is still way behind the UK, has more people arrested for the same reason than Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Belarus,…
Indeed: https://metro.co.uk/2025/12/17/man-jailed-burning-migrant-ho...
“An X user who posted two anti-immigration tweets been handed a 18-month jail sentence.”
Edit to point out 1. That is a quote and 2. The UK considers this Ok though https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjeykklwn7vo
Re: Independent review of UK national security law warns of overreach
#50This is a terrible headline, despite being the original. The "watchdog" is a KC (senior barrister) officially appointed to review the legislation. He's warning that this could be considered hostile activity under the act, which would be a bad thing . In other words, he's criticising the act for being overly broad, a view that most on HN agree with, and his criticisms of it presumably carry some weight, given his offi…
Once again, the transparency we do have in the UK is weaponised against it.
You see this with "OMG knife-crime is out of control in London" type stories that the US love to run.
It's because we were :
1. a decade or more ahead of the rest of the world in actually collecting knife-crime stats
2. Include in those stats people who were simply carrying the kind of knife that wouldn't even get you noticed elsewhere, let alone recorded in the stats.
And that's even without considering that the weapon of choice in the USA is the firearm.
But you wouldn't beleive it from the headlines.
Back to this story, here we have legislators doing their job of scrutinising, and their open scrutiny is held up against the country.
We could instead have a system where people vote on bills without knowing their contents like the US does.