Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, commented on the disapproval of the European Union’s proposal which aimed to regulate chat control.
The EU has recently proposed a new ‘detection order,’ which would allow government agencies to search messages, files, and photos on encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.
Buterin implicitly supported the proposal’s failure, considering it beneficial for privacy rights. When sharing his opinions on X, he emphasized the need to prepare for future privacy invasion threats, given that technologies are rapidly progressing toward mind-reading capabilities.
This proposed legislation met strong resistance, mainly from privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and operators of encrypted messaging services. The proposal also contradicted the principle of end-to-end encryption, which ensures only the sender and the intended recipient can decrypt messages.
Moreover, the EU planned to use Artificial Intelligence to scan people’s messages for child sexual abuse materials. However, Critics have warned that this could lead to widespread public surveillance. Some people have also organized petition rallies in opposition, with campaigns like ‘Don’t Scan Me’ playing a role in the proposal’s withdrawal.
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