pull down to refresh
623 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford 21 May \ on: Going Dark: The war on encryption is on the rise — Mullvad privacy
Over the past few months I've been seeing a ramping up of FUD around Signal. Don't misunderstand me. I still have concerns about Signal's governance model. I was very concerned when the founder stepped down and Meredith Whittaker took the reins. I do not share the politics of some of those on the board that have been under scrutiny lately. I think the scrutiny is warranted and we need to remain vigilant.
All that said, I also have very high suspensions about the likes of Tucker Carlson claiming Signal is compromised. Having the Telegram founder on and FUDing the most widely used secure messaging app in the world. My tin foil hat theory is that there is an effort to get people off of Signal because it is becoming to widely used. I say this because it aligns with the general effort to back door encryption. I see many "conservative" influencers pushing Telegram which doesn't have the privacy defaults or guarantees of Signal.
Something is up. That's all I'm saying
Regarding Meredith Whittaker and the board members. Encryption is important for activists around the world and in the US. Lets not forget that many on the left have massive fears about the right taking over and instituting restrictive laws around morality. The intelligent left wing people will realize that in order to preserve their liberties they need encryption.
My point is privacy and encryption are not a solely political thing. I've watch Whittaker do an excellent job defending the right to secure comms against many scumbags on TV. Regardless of her politics it is foolish to believe we that hate the state are alone in our desire for privacy. It is equally foolish to believe Republicans and conservatives are on board with privacy. These are the same people that support George W. Bush's massive expansion of surveillance.
We need to use our heads. Pay attention to what people say but more importantly what they do. Do your own research. Do not take my word for it. For sure don't take Tucker Carlson's word for it. There is a war on privacy and many sheep in wolves clothing. Don't make enemies of allies. Its just dumb.
I'll add this. This is fitting into a classic pattern of taking something that isn't really about left/right and making it about that. This happens over and over and influencers and politicians do this to gain attention and support. I think that might be happening here. That's the best case. Worst case is both sides are working together to discourage people from even trying to use secure messaging tools.
Way to many people in bitcoin and SN are delusional. It is very hard to get my friends and family to use anything other than surveillance tech. Signal is by far the tool I've had the most success with. I love all the tools. There are tools better than Signal in some ways but they make compromises that make them harder to adopt. Some are just new and buggy. Some don't have the features people want. It is not helpful for us to slam an effective tool like Signal and pretend we actually have options that non-technical people will use. I'm in favor of using these newer tools. They need users. We should be supporting by using all of these tools that protect privacy. Don't throw rocks and the good tools.
reply
Unfortunately, I don't have the time to answer more detailed right now, but in various countries the investigative authorities (investigators and agents) often use Signal to communicate with undercover informants. especially in the secret service area. telegram is almost never used. There are various ways to evaluate this, but I suspect that Signal cooperates with some institutions
reply