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0 pointstiborsaas2y ago0 comments

This bill could be step one. Step two could be a requirement for SW/HW manufacturers to add a backdoor since this is not really effective to fight crime this way. I'm not saying it is planned or there's some conspiracy for establishing a totalitarian state.

But we can't really predict the future and more loose rules could be introduced by the next government with a totally different agenda who might thank for the previous one for creating this legal framework.

Also, this section is weird too:

> They said sensitive professions, including doctors, journalists, lawyers, judges and MPs, would not be legitimate targets.

Apparently software engineering is not a sensitive job.

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pantulis2y ago

> Step two could be a requirement for SW/HW manufacturers to add a backdoor since this is not really effective to fight crime this way

We have already been there, it's just like good old phone calls. They can be intercepted under the proper judicial supervision.

I don't have criteria to answer if this is a necessary evil or directly a blatant totalitarian push, but one needs to consider: does the French government have a bad track record of abusing the capability of eavesdropping any phone communication? has this capability been useful for law enforcement?

tiborsaasOP2y ago

Good point, most people however don't expect their phone calls to be private for this very reason.

> does the French government have a bad track record of abusing the capability of eavesdropping any phone communication?

I'd rather look into possible future scenarios, I don't know about past cases, but I don't really follow french politics. I know discussing politics is HN is not encouraged, so I'd just rather suggest to look up what's coming for France (and EU) if the current government fails and major powers switch. Sorry if you already know this.

> has this capability been useful for law enforcement?

In Hungary, Pegasus was used to eavesdrop on many citizens who were simply in an opposing position. Law enforcement is a good cover for data collection and of course can be effective, but we need transparency and safety to see if these tools are abused or not. There are no good answers I'm afraid.

Nevermark2y ago

The slippery slope argument can be overused.

But any surveillance capability results in “good” as well as bad actors, frustrated with the current limits, asking for just a little more formal power or finding ways to justify informal drift in practice.

The only way to stop surveillance creep is openness and clear principles more coherent than a recursive “well they have been responsible so far, so far as we know” argument.

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