Germany must stand firmly against client-side scanning in Chat Control [pdf]

I wouldn't expect much from this government.

The CDU is legendary known for its umpteenth attempt to introduce illegal data retention (condemned by Germany's highest court).

The SPD - which is also part of the ruling coalition - is a flag in the wind as it has proven since coming to power. They will do anything to stay in power.

Deep down, Client Side Scanning that's what both want.

No one should remove from us the right to privacy in chat rooms. Otherwise, PGP might become cool again, or I bet that there will be new ways to chat without mass surveillance.

> Under the guise of protecting children, the latest Chat Control proposals would require mass scanning of every message, photo, and video on a person’s device, assessing these via a government-mandated database or AI model to determine whether they are permissible content or not.

This is pretty terrifying, although not unexpected. Given Germany's aggressive crackdown on speech I wouldn't feel too optimistic. If the BKA is going to launch criminal investigations for calling overweight politicians fat, they're probably not going to protect any rights to private conversation.

The lack of free speech laws in Europe is becoming a serious issue

> Otherwise, PGP might become cool

People need convenient access to PGP. If their App Store removes all PGP apps then they might have to upload their privatekey to a PWA. And then no one's any better off.

If the everyman is forced to choose between being surveilled or using PGP, I reckon I know what he'd choose regardless.

Pursue criminal action against the people making apps or providing servers for decentralized/federated networks.