Signal sends smoke, er, signal: If US Congress cripples anonymous speech with EARN IT Act, we’ll shut US operations

In a blog post on Thursday, the non-profit said it will have to shut down it stateside presence should the EARN IT Act be passed and signed into law. Legal and liability concerns would make it impossible to operate in the US, it claims. However, that isn’t to say Signal would close down entirely, or not offer a service in America, just that its operations in the country would need to move elsewhere.

Personally I think they should go ahead and move. What with the already existing US CLOUD Act, hosting a service within the US or even with a US owned company internationally is now flagged as a potential privacy risk on some security dashboards I’ve seen for messenger products. It’s ironic that much of what the US accuses China of doing, the US Administration is trying to put blatantly into their own laws. Encryption and privacy are binary: You have it or you don’t have it. There is no 75% privacy.

It is good though to see Signal standing firm on their principles. Deafening silence though from Whatsapp?

See Signal sends smoke, er, signal: If Congress cripples anonymous speech with EARN IT Act, we’ll shut US ops

#technology #privacy #instantmessaging

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Secure messaging app says it could not continue operations in America under proposed law