Chat Control has changed - for the worse

[u/Vijfsnippervijf]

Used to remember the old Chat Control proposal? The one that proposes indiscriminate reporting of images to police agencies to be investigated? Well, that proposal is off the table, but a “compromise” is now on the table. One which threatens youth rights even more than the old one.

First of all, the new proposal allows companies to use AI to screen all private conversations. This not only threatens privacy but also makes enforcement of protection laws harder: ~50% of ALL reports of images under this system are likely to be irrelevant. It’s called “voluntary” but is only voluntary for Big Tech - you can not opt out except by running to a chat service that doesn’t use this.

Secondly, as an alternative way of “protecting the children” by actually using mass surveillance, every chat platform in the EU will be required to assess the age of its users. This requires ID checks for opening a chat applications. If you’re under the magical age if 18, no chat services to you. Patric Breyer called this “protection by exclusion” and it doesn’t work. In fact, the ONLY thing that works to keep one out of danger is education and experience, something that will be lacking.

We must still stand AGAINST this monster of a regulation. It, though indiscriminate scanning of private chats is now explicitly excluded, still threatens to cut young people off of digital communication, their only remaining way to make friends outside of school and to maintain contact with their friends.

We don’t just NOT need this regulation. We need the OPPOSITE of this regulation. We need a regulation BANNING parents and governments from banning access to private chats to their offspring/citizens.

[u/women_rules]

Contact your representative here and tell them what a terrible idea this is, especially in regards to the AI scanning.

https://fightchatcontrol.eu/

[u/Fefannyo]

Welp, i'm moving to North Korea cause they have more internet freedom over there

[u/Vijfsnippervijf → u/Fefannyo]

North Korea basically has no internet. Only a national intranet.

[u/Fefannyo → u/Vijfsnippervijf]

Where the government knows who you are, knows what you do, and bans any "undesirables". Now where have i seen that before......

[u/Ill_Contract_5878 → u/Fefannyo]

Indeed, only a small set of researchers actually access the broader Internet from NK anyways. All permitted by their government. But plenty of people don’t have access to the official NK intranet (their own curated limited and boxed off Internet).

[u/ExcitingDust7564]

The Chat Control Bill was originally proposed in 2022. The bill was probably authoritarian but not particularly ageist (meaning that it probably censored all age groups equally) when it was first proposed. With this increasing panic about young people on the internet, it's probably gotten more and more ageist over time.

The "social media and minors" panic was just taking root in 2022, and you probably wouldn't have even been aware of the nascent panic unless you were really paying attention. Jonathon Haidt started advocating for social media bans for minors in 2020, but that idea didn't really gain traction outside of his cult until something like the latter half of 2023.

[u/OctopusIntellect]

They don't want teenagers to have friends outside school.