Going Dark: The war on encryption is on the rise. Through a shady collaboration between the US and the EU.
1/11
The European Commission has refused to disclose the members of the “Going Dark” High Level Group. However, Mullvad has accessed meeting minutes through a public request to the Swedish Ministry of Justice.
2/11
The first “Going Dark” meeting was led by Olivier Onidi (chat control advocate at the European Commission together with Ylva Johansson) and Anna-Carin Svensson at the Swedish Ministry of Justice.
3/11
Anna-Carin Svensson is known for her, according to Wikileak 2010, recommendation to American authorities to withhold surveillance agreements, between Sweden and USA, from the Swedish parliament.
4/11
At least one former FBI employee has been present at the meetings, saying: “solutions for lawful access (to data on device) should be prioritized". As a former FBI employee, he also expressed "his gratitude for the fact that the issue was being pursued within the EU.”
5/11
On April 21, 2024, European Police Chiefs together issued a joint statement calling for "action against end-to-end encryption." According to Swedish police, the statement is a direct extension of the “Going Dark” initiative.
6/11
According to meeting minutes from the Swedish parliament, the Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer states that the "Going Dark" group will work "to present effective recommendations for the new commission's entry in 2024 and for those recommendations to then be implemented."
7/11
The chat control bill was shot down by the European Parliament last year (still under endless debate in the Council of the EU), after the revelations that American tech companies and authorities has been part of the work behind the proposal. “Going Dark” is the new attempt.
8/11
We need to pay attention to the forces behind this. Both Ylva Johansson’s chat control argumentation and the “Going Dark” rhetoric is like a copy-paste from the FBI Director James Comey back in 2014.
9/11
As @Mer__edith said in a keynote speech: “The current attack on end-to-end encryption is very much related to a desire by some in government to return to the less fettered access to surveillance that they see as having lost post Snowden“
10/11
In the beginning of June, it’s time for the citizens of the European Union to elect new Members of the European Parliament. Vote for candidates who stand up for privacy as a human right!
11/11
@mullvadnet Any good Swedish candidates that stands for privacy?
@bjornh @mullvadnet You can check https://chatcontrol.se/status/. It seems V, MP and C are fully against chat control, meaning they are likely against this as well.
@weregonnagetthere @mullvadnet I think that was where I landed when i did SVTs test. Not my ordinary parties but privacy is something very important for me.
@weregonnagetthere @bjornh @mullvadnet Malin Björk and Vänsterpartiet are apparently still against chat control etc. In April she voted no to A9-0021/2024, stating (in translation) "The proposal restricts basic freedoms and rights such as the right to privacy, the right to confidential correspondence and freedom of expression." https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/124992/MALIN_BJORK/other-activities/written-explanations#detailedcardmep @nikkasystems
@quitelost @weregonnagetthere @bjornh @mullvadnet
A full update with all parties’ positions is already written and is currently under review. It will probably be published on Friday.
@nikkasystems @quitelost @weregonnagetthere @mullvadnet looking forward to it
@mullvadnet Was reading something on Facebook's various decisions and realized that actually you could get rid of a lot of the issue around e2e by making design decisions that promote that better promote safety. I'd also believe the arguments about child safety a lot more if more were being done to alleviate child poverty...
@mullvadnet it's always fun that the ones working more against privacy and end to end encryption are the ones truly scared of their names being known associated to it and have all these secret meetings. Let's give them a glass house and video them all 24/7 and make all their communications public for scrutiny like they so desire for others. They can be the beta testers.
After all, they for sure got nothing to hide right? 
inimigo do estado
@mullvadnet
This is alarming. Thanks for sharing. It's a long read but all of it interesting. I was surprised to read of Ashton Kutcher's presence at the center of Thorn and their unsettling behavior in obtaining free access to all our communication. Lots of information reinforcing that wealthy, privileged forces are trying to keep us from seeing their true intentions.
@mullvadnet And this is why I vote for the pirate party.
90% of child porn “hits” are false positives?
A lot of innocent people will be red-listed, accused, … and that will leak, and then… 
@mullvadnet Banning curtains again, sigh
@mullvadnet The immediate response to any authority demanding a 'back-door' to encryption should be met with only one reply. "You first." Once they figure out all the reasons they can't do it, those are all the reasons WE can't do it.
@mullvadnet A great read and one to save for reference. For every failed initiative there will be a new one just around the corner.
I can imagine there could be many additions to this article in the coming years.