1w ago

Head of the Signal app threatens to withdraw from Europe

www.bluewin.ch

Signal app boss threatens to withdraw from Europe

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/50130760

54 comments

Please check out https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ if you want to take action against this.
If signal pulls out of Europe we're in a pretty fucked state. Apps like signal will be reduced to operations it a few fringe countries eventually
- Signal is nice because it has a pretty good adoption rate even with non techies (which is why they've been mentioned by name in the chat control proposal). But privacy enthusiasts will still have briar/simplechat/xmpp. Those aren't centralised like Signal and will be a lot harder to regulate
  
  ChatControl 2.0, if passed means your entire device is backdoored so it doesn’t matter what apps you installl, they can get your info pre-encryption
  
  You won't be able to install those apps soon after Android bans sideloading of apps that aren't signed, or bans sideloading of apps that are not from the playstore itself.
  What then?
- We still have Matrix.
Canary coal mine kind of signal (pardon the pun)
Edit: they also obviously do not have a choice. If they legally must weaken their work and the core of their work is that it's not weak... then they have no work. So they can't accept it.
I always threaten to pull out, but I never do
- Dumbass. Always pull out. And wear a condom.
  
  This is what I always say to myself when reading the Japanese porno mags.
Signal does not have a large enough userbase to threaten something like this. EU will just shrug and move on.
- Hard disagree. Politicians use Signal themselves for their private group chats.
This is the right choice.
For a future with privacy, not mass surveillance, Germany must stand firmly against client-side scanning in the Chat Control proposal [PDF - Statement from Meredith Whittaker, President, Signal Foundation]
Shocker. I do however wonder what prevents someone from downloading and installing the apk to their phone. Am I wrong in believing this is a real way to bypass them leaving a market?
- what prevents someone from downloading and installing the apk to their phone
  google.
  https://www.androidsage.com/2025/08/26/google-blocks-sideloading-of-android-apps/
  
  So first step is installing an alternative phone OS then.
- Doesn't Signal work with phone numbers? They will probably block every EU number from accessing the service to protect themselves legally. Maybe you could use something like jmp.chat to circumvent that? Probably need a VPN as well to mask your IP. In any case, it will decimate the user base, so you're left chatting with yourself anyway.
  
  To my understanding, you just need a phone number to make an account. I think it can be a burner number. But then if you ever lose access to the account you can't recover it.
I don't understand how this "threat" is supposed to work. If the law passes won't any and all chat encryption be affected? In that case it doesn't matter how you get the app, or if you manage to get it in europe. Its encryption will be broken/unavailable.
- Laws don't magically break encryption. I'm not sure what you're trying to say.
  They're trying to force Signal to weaken the application, Signal says they won't do it.
  They can ban Signal for not complying, but you know how difficult it is to ban a digital application? It might make it more popular since it'll be one of very few actually secure messaging apps out there.
  
  I imagined the law would be enforced by a deal with google and some global android state approved keylogger/backdoor completely bypassing all apps including Signal. But yeah, I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around this.
- Encryption isn't magically broken because a legislature says it is.
  They have to apply teeth to a market they control. Not everything is within their control. Though, signal is.
- I suspect that signal will be asked to add a backdoor to their encryption, they will refuse and subsequently banned from EU app stores.
  
  banned from EU app stores
  What even is that? Aren't the 2 app official app stores American anyway?
Anywhere to petition or digitally sign?

54 comments