Maybe we should be looking at the larger picture here this is exactly why Signal or any other privately owned centralized messaging system can never be trusted. Stop using Signal or WhatsApp.
Look at alternatives like Matrix that are immune to this sort of thing.
Technically, decentralized solutions certainly can offer protection against laws affecting central hosts. But we do also need to fight the legal battle as much as we can. As long as there are laws restricting things like encryption that everyone needs to use, there can be selective enforcement against politically inconvenient individuals and organizations. It’s another tool for suppressing dissent and free expression.
I use Matrix but it (like XMPP) does depend on servers and, though anyone can host one, this can make it vulnerable to law enforcement actions too. Others I’ve heard recommended include Simplex, Briar, and Session, which all try to avoid this need for servers but may be more confusing for non-technical users at first. There’s definitely a bit of an issue with decentralized software being more complicated to set up. Signal has been successful because it’s so easy to use.
Not trying to be a jerk, I just don’t understand. If the government ordered matrix to put a backdoor into the code, couldn’t we just install a version that doesn’t have the backdoor? It’s open source, someone is bound to fork it. So then the government’s only option is to hunt down every matrix server in canada that doesn’t have a backdoor and persecute the owner, which would be time and cost intensive but I guess possible. So at that point could we not just host the servers outside of Canada? What do they do in that case?
Maybe we should be looking at the larger picture here this is exactly why Signal or any other privately owned centralized messaging system can never be trusted. Stop using Signal or WhatsApp.
Look at alternatives like Matrix that are immune to this sort of thing.
Technically, decentralized solutions certainly can offer protection against laws affecting central hosts. But we do also need to fight the legal battle as much as we can. As long as there are laws restricting things like encryption that everyone needs to use, there can be selective enforcement against politically inconvenient individuals and organizations. It’s another tool for suppressing dissent and free expression.
I use Matrix but it (like XMPP) does depend on servers and, though anyone can host one, this can make it vulnerable to law enforcement actions too. Others I’ve heard recommended include Simplex, Briar, and Session, which all try to avoid this need for servers but may be more confusing for non-technical users at first. There’s definitely a bit of an issue with decentralized software being more complicated to set up. Signal has been successful because it’s so easy to use.
The point flew over your head so hard. People already use and can look into matrix and that makes this still bad.
matrix is not immune to this lol
Not trying to be a jerk, I just don’t understand. If the government ordered matrix to put a backdoor into the code, couldn’t we just install a version that doesn’t have the backdoor? It’s open source, someone is bound to fork it. So then the government’s only option is to hunt down every matrix server in canada that doesn’t have a backdoor and persecute the owner, which would be time and cost intensive but I guess possible. So at that point could we not just host the servers outside of Canada? What do they do in that case?