[Publicpolicy] Re: Open letter to UK government - safeguarding privacy and end-to-end encryption

I don't know if this is a little off-topic for the Movement, but please consider if the Foundation or any Affiliates (especially WMUK to WMEU) might like to sign on to this Open letter? In pride and solidarity, Owen -- Owen Blacker, London GB @owenblacker <http://twitter.com/owenblacker>, he/him @owenblacker@dataare.cool <https://dataare.cool/@owenblacker> User:OwenBlacker (meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User%3AOwenBlacker>, enwiki <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:OwenBlacker>, frwiki <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilisateur:OwenBlacker>) ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Monica Horten &lt;monica(a)openrightsgroup.org&gt; Date: Tue, 30 May 2023 at 10:57 Subject: [ORG-advisory] [ REQUEST FOR SIGNATURE] Open letter to UK government - safeguarding privacy and end-to-end encryption To: ORG Advisory Council discussion list < org-advisory(a)lists.openrightsgroup.org&gt; *RE: Sign on to civil society open letter to the UK government: we urge UK to protect global digital security and safeguard private communication* *Dear Advisory Council members, * A gentle reminder about our letter, and thank you to those who have already signed! You may sign as an individual or an organisation. We have been made aware that occasionally the sign-on form has not worked properly. It should provide a confirmation page. If you experience any issues with it, please let me know, and you can sign manually. *European Digital Rights (EDRi) and Open Rights Group have drafted an open letter to the UK government, calling for the deletion of chat control measures in the Online Safety Bill. * *The Online Safety Bill is a deeply troubling legislative proposal containing measures that threaten fundamental rights online. It is currently being debated in the UK Parliament, and could be passed into law as soon as mid-July this year. * *Of special concern for us is the way it puts at risk messaging services that use end-to-end encryption. The Bill will give Ofcom, the regulator, extraordinary powers to enforce this – powers that are said to be greater than those of GCHQ. The UK government has indicated its intention for providers to use client-side scanning, although it has not confirmed this publicly. * *If passed in its present form, the UK could become the first liberal democracy to require the routine scanning of people’s private chat messages, including chats that are secured by end-to-end encryption. * *The letter expresses our concerns and calls on the UK government to drop the proposal. It urges the UK remove end-to-end encrypted services from the scope of the Bill and to uphold the privacy of people’s confidential communications. * *The full text of the letter is here: * https://cloud.edri.org/index.php/s/8EXtTDwLfya4Rq8 *We would like to let the UK government know the strength of feeling in civil society around the world that encrypted messaging platforms are there to protect us all and should not be weakened. * We invite you to sign the letter via this sign-on form: https://cloud.edri.org/index.php/apps/forms/s/ab7o7RK6FENJrAntSpZYnH3X You may sign as an organisation or as an individual. The cut-off time for signatures is 8am BST / 9am CEST Wednesday 31 May. Please note that the system does not provide an automated confirmation of your signature. Thank you for your support! Regards, Ella Jakubowska - EDRi Dr Monica Horten – Open Rights Group *Dr Monica Horten* Policy Manager - Freedom of Expression *Pronouns*: She/her *Working days: *Monday-Thursday *Tel / Signal:* +447787512887 *PGP Key: *keys.openpgp.org <https://keys.openpgp.org/vks/v1/by-fingerprint/84B0D0A6AFB19BA4028DA4944CF6C7A768C399EA> *Matrix:* <https://matrix.to/#/@monica:openrightsgroup.org>@monica: <https://matrix.to/#/@aislinn:openrightsgroup.org>openrightsgroup.org @Iptegrity <https://twitter.com/Iptegrity> *|* Bio <https://www.openrightsgroup.org/who-we-are/monica-horten/> *Open Rights Group | *www.openrightsgroup.org/join See our latest updates on Twitter <https://twitter.com/OpenRightsGroup>, Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/openrightsgroup/?hc_ref=ARQg4oMoyIAyPoqDwJOBB7wE_r7ixsgc2zw6K1hZC4F4rkJrSS_V9eCheHaQtIQzEIM&fref=nf> and Mastodon <https://mastodon.social/@openrightsgroup>. Open Rights Group is a non-profit company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (05581537 <http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/05581537>). This email is intended only for the named addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you have received this email in error, please notify Open Rights Group immediately by emailing info(a)openrightsgroup.org and deleting this message. _______________________________________________ ORG-advisory mailing list ORG-advisory(a)lists.openrightsgroup.org https://lists.openrightsgroup.org/listinfo/org-advisory