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It is being breathlessly reported that the European e-Privacy Directive that takes effect next month will prohibit tech companies from scanning content for child abuse images. But this is not exactly true: a thread. 1/9 https://buff.ly/2IS4aub
In fact just this month, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) @W_Wiewiorowski laid out a detailed plan for how such scanning could continue to take place, consistent with respect for privacy and other fundamental human rights. 2/9 https://twitter.com/ProstasiaInc/status/1326941834300563457?s=20
Pro-censorship child safety groups emotively mischaracterize this as balancing the “privacy of pedophiles” against the privacy of children. That’s a false dichotomy. Blanket CSAM scanning with no safeguards means compromising privacy for EVERYONE. 3/9 https://twitter.com/LiannaMcDonald/status/1329138597375606784?s=20
The European Parliament rapporteur @BirgitSippelMEP has shown readiness to accept a short-term solution (a “temporary derogation”), without all of the safeguards recommended by the EDPS, that would allow scanning for child abuse images to continue. 4/9 https://twitter.com/BirgitSippelMEP/status/1328390874552786945?s=20
This compromise would require that technologies used for scanning are “subject to prior evaluation by the data protection supervisory authorities,” would require six-monthly transparency reporting by providers, and clarifies that there should be no weakening of encryption. 5/9
But this isn’t enough for pro-censorship activists. They also want the Parliament to allow the continued use of dangerously inaccurate artificial intelligence classifiers for both text and images, and to allow computers to censor without human review. 6/9 https://johncarr.blog/2020/11/18/the-wisdom-of-max-schrems/
Worse, there remains a secret proposal by the European Commission to mandate the addition of dangerous backdoors into ENCRYPTED messaging software so that even private messages can be scanned. Please sign our petition to stop this terrifying proposal! 7/9 https://prostasia.org/campaign/no-big-brother-in-my-pocket/
This problem is of platforms’ own making. They put all their eggs in one basket: an unaccountable, opaque censorship machine. “The fight against serious crimes, including child exploitation or terrorist content, cannot be delegated to private actors.” 8/9 https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/opinion/the-fundamental-rights-concerns-at-the-heart-of-new-eu-online-content-rules/
The way forward is to step back, take a breath, and start again, with a response that respects human rights by design. This means prioritizing prevention, rather than just censorship. Please donate to one of the only groups that promotes this approach. 9/9 https://prostasia.org/project/eliminating-child-abuse-images/
