We’ve made it clear that these bills are terrible ideas, but Congress is now considering packaging them together—possibly into must-pass legislation. I’m asking you to join us, ACLU, Fight for the Future, and other digital rights defenders in a week of action to protect the internet.
Here’s the worst of the bunch:
The EARN IT Act would likely mandate scanning of messages and other files similar to the plan that Apple wisely walked away from last year.
The client-side message and file scanning plan they’re suggesting makes absolutely no sense unless all hardware and software is involved. So, if this bill passes, we can pretty much say farewell to anything that gives users freedom and control. Goodbye jailbreaking! Goodbye custom ROMs! Get ready for massive crackdowns, forced (and backdoored) updates, and mandatory buyback programs…
It gets even worse because the EU and UK are thinking of passing similar laws too (EU Chat Control and UK Online Safety Bill).
I think it’s time for F-Droid and other privacy-focused projects to start freaking out and maybe even put banners in their actual apps. F-Droid could do it to reach all the non-nerds who only use it for NewPipe.
If you think it’s too soon or should be coordinated by EFF or other NGOs first, at least put a message on your homepage, please…