kitsunekun

Ignore the fact that it's coming from Breitbart. This is really freaky in more than one way.

FTA:

Against stiff competition, the alliance of tech and media giants has devised a plan that may constitute Big Tech’s most brazen power-grab yet.

According to Microsoft’s press release, it has partnered with several other organizations to form the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).

Put simply, the purpose of this organization is to devise a system whereby all content on the internet can be traced back to its author.

The press release states that it will develop these specifications for “common asset types and formats,” meaning videos, documents, audio, and images.

Whether it’s a meme, an audio remix, or a written article, the goal is to ensure that when content reaches the internet, it will come attached with a set of signals allowing its provenance — meaning authorship — can be detected.

I came across a few comments and topics here telling people who strongly advocate for privacy to be more "moderate", and to "sound less crazy". People who say that should be ignored and even banned if they persist. Time and time again privacy advocates and skeptics of the "if you don't have anything to hide you shouldn't worry" have been proven right, while the other side has been proven wrong. Remember when James Clapper lied in front of congress? I do. Remember when Snowden used to be glorified as long as it served the purpose of the media and some politicians? I do. How do people think of Snowden now? As a traitor, a rat, someone who should be executed.

Privacy is a universal human right, we all deserve to have some. Yet, being welcoming and open to people who are here to set obstacles for us at every step is not only counterproductive but foolish. They clearly don't care about privacy, and they certainly don't care if others lose it, so why should we welcome them here and embrace their drivel and gibberish with open arms? They are a detriment to our cause.

My two cents.

They may be sponsored by the US Government, or by cryptographers with ties to the government.

https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-crypto-keepers-levine

It's a long read, but it's quite good. Here's a snippet to whet your palate where he describes some of the prominent people behind these projects:

At least that’s how they saw themselves. My reporting revealed a different reality. As I found out by digging through financial records and FOIA requests, many of these self-styled online radicals were actually military contractors, drawing salaries with benefits from the very same U.S. national security state they claimed to be fighting. Their spunky crypto-tech also turned out, on closer inspection, to be a jury-rigged and porous Potemkin Village version of secure digital communications. What’s more, the relevant software here was itself financed by the U.S. government: millions of dollars a year flowing to crypto radicals from the Pentagon, the State Department, and organizations spun off from the CIA.

For context: I have become very interested in the debate amongst app users such as Telegram, Signal, Threema, etc... and I know that many people claim that Signal is the very best amongst all of them but there's something really sketchy about its location (US based) and the fact that the government can for anyone to comply with their orders and forbid them from telling anyone about it via gag orders (see Durov's comments on this: https://t.me/durov/59).

Both are fascinating reads, and certainly help me appreciate platforms like Telegram and Threema even more. Regarding Threema, today they posted a comparison between their app and the competition, and found this interesting tidbit regarding Signal:

https://threema.ch/en/blog/posts/messenger-comparison-2021

Signal enjoys an outstanding reputation among experts, and it’s certainly a good alternative to WhatsApp. However, just like WhatsApp, it requires users to disclose personally identifiable information: Providing a phone number is mandatory. As a US company, Signal is also subject to the CLOUD Act, which entitles US authorities to access data from IT service providers that are based in the US.

Also: I just learned that FB spends millions of dollars every year on marketing and trying to influence people to not use platforms such as telegram.