Skip Navigation

InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)CO
Posts
0
Comments
61
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • Sorry wired just came to hand. You can find it referenced elsewhere.

    But it did change from 'have to' to 'have to, if possible' which is a massive climb down. It's basically not possible to have a backdoor in e2e encryption so I think it's dead in the water. It may even make other companies shift to e2e to avoid this legislation, which would be ironic.

    And I think the quote is from the minister in charge of the bill, so he/she would talk it up.

    The bill is awful. But at least it's weak(er) and awful.

    Time will tell.

  • Sure. I've not read it either but here's what I've found.

    Removal of encryption backdoors - https://www.wired.co.uk/article/britain-admits-defeat-in-online-safety-bill-encryption

    Removal of 'harmful but legal' - https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/29/uk-online-safety-bill-legal-but-harmful-edit/

    Age verification isn't so clear cut but there's room for a lot of hope. What 'age verification' is going to be in the bill is yet to be determined by Ofcom.

    .. Which is law makers kicking the can down the road... or passing the buck. Probably because it's unenforceable and a technical/ privacy nightmare. Maybe it will amount to something, in which case we should be afraid, but I think most likely it will amount to not much.

    Full bill is here if you have a spare 3 days to read it all - https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/52368/documents/3841

  • After bouncing back and forth between the house of lord's and the house of commons This bill is a shadow of it's former self. I'm glad to say.

    Three things that were massively damaging for privacy and security have, as far as I can see, been scrapped.

    1. The bill no longer requires tech companies to control 'harmful but legal' content. A blurry, ill defined concept that would have been impossible to regulate.
    2. The bill no longer requires all end to end encrypted communication channel's (WhatsApp etc) to have a backdoor for governments and enforcement agencies to access unencrypted messages between people. Something that would have broken effective security in every way.
    3. The bill no longer requires porn to only be accessible to UK citizens after they have proven they are an adult. This was by providing bank details or ID to porn websites (lol no thanks), possibly through a third party company that is supposed to assure some privacy ( lol still no thanks).

    And what's left in the bill is going to be regulated by Ofcom, a toothless underfunded shell of a regulatory body.

  • They're massive for a start. Police have something like 60% Union membership. Compare that IT and service industries which are in the area of 3-6%. That gives them serious clout for lobbying legislation and anything else.

    Unions are effective. Sadly this one i just happens to be working for a rotten gang.

  • 'Rome' by hbo and BBC. Quality program. It was an entertaining show and the broad strokes of history and the details of Roman life (which struck me as a lot weirder and more pagan than you might expect) were done with a lot of care and accuracy. The starting scene was a battle between Romans and Gauls and has some of the most accurate depictions of Roman warfare ever done I reckon. Plus there's tons of sex.

  • The feedback loop is positive? I've not read that anywhere, are you sure? There's a number of tipping points, some which we may have passed already but I don't think there are any beyond the ability of mankind to counter by simply reducing emissions. Seeing as we're the greatest contributor to greenhouse gases by a mile.

  • They think they're onto a good thing after their suprise by-election victory, credited to the unpopularity of the expansion of London's ultra low emission zone. Now watch as Rishi flyers with rolling back every single environmentally progressive policy of the last 50 years for a handful of votes.

    Still, they're onto a loser there. The environment and climate change is a big concern for voters these days, and frankly they're already uncredible in that department. What little reputation they have will get easily be damaged.