
A new bill could punish web platforms for using end-to-end encryption - elorant
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/21116788/earn-it-act-section-230-lindsey-graham-draft-bill-encryption
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dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22202110](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22202110)

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philipkiely
A classic case of the 4 horsemen of the infocolypse [1] invoked to threaten
digital liberties.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Infocalyp...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Infocalypse)

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cft
This Graham/Blumenthal duo is out to finish off the remainders of the
independent internet in the name of children. Even separately from encryption,
it is likely that the required technical threshold (likely non-trivial ML
models) and the legal complexity of automatically censoring user uploads will
be above the capabilities of most small independent forums, remaining popular
independent sites like Mastodon instances, 4chan (which has already been
effectively demonetized by the advertisers), etc. The authors of the bill
don't mind: it's easier to deal with the professional lobbyists of a couple of
monopolistic giants than with a bunch of nuisance small websites.

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amarshall
See also the discussion of Pfefferkorn’s critique of EARN IT which is linked
from this article:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22202110](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22202110)

~~~
akersten
Even the title of the bill is so infuriatingly patronizing and un-American.
"You want to stay out of jail? Why don't you EARN IT by letting us snoop in on
your customers?" Disgusting.

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patricklorio
Part of me wonders if this will just accelerate the usage of protocols that
don't have a centralized entity to host content. If there's no need for the
Section 230 protection, this adjustment is irrelevant.

~~~
awakeasleep
This is a seductive and false type of thinking we’re susceptible to.

The law _matters_. If the protocol you're imagining is created, it'll be
fought at the carrier level.

Just because piracy hasnt been squashed yet doesnt mean we’ll be able to hack
our way around obstacles forever

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AndrewBissell
Attorney General Barr: We're having a really hard time gathering evidence
against child predators because of all this end-to-end encryption.

Also Attorney General Barr: Sure, Epstein's New Mexico ranch was an epicenter
of his elite child trafficking ring but there's really no need for the FBI to
raid it anytime soon.

