What is the EARN IT Act?
0#earnitact #encryption #privacy
For this one, I discuss what the EARN IT ACT is, why it's being introduced, and the risks it poses to ONLINE PRIVACY.
The EARN IT ACT is a bill being put through in the US Congress to combat the abuse of children, by targeting platforms that (most likely unwittingly) facilitate the exchange of indecent images. It does this by making TECH companies meet a series of demands in order to earn their status as being not liable for the CONTENT posted on their platform.
One of these demands could be the weakening of ENCRYPTION. For example, WHATSAPP currently encrypts its messages END-TO-END, but FACEBOOK could be forced to introduce a backdoor to such encryption practices to conform to the new bill. This endangers our PRIVACY online and such a backdoor could make us more vulnerable to HACKERS.
This BILL needs to be called out for what it actually is. A desperate attempt to reframe an ambition the US GOVERNMENT has had since 9/11 -- to monitor people's activity ONLINE.