French government considers users of ad blocker uBlock Origin and messaging app Signal to be potential terrorists
On December 8, 2020, nine persons were arrested by France's National Anti-Terrorism Public Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) on suspicion of 'associating terrorist crimes', seven of whom were indicted. In response to the authorities' allegation that the suspects were preparing for terrorism, French rights advocacy group La Quadrature du Net said, ``Without solid evidence, the only reason was that they used encrypted messaging apps such as Signal. and criticized.
Criminalization of encryption: the 8th December case – La Quadrature du Net
2023 - Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram…: the use of encrypted messaging considered terrorist behavior by French justice?
According to La Quadrature du Net, the French Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI), which conducted the investigation, said in a document that 'all contacted members had access to encrypted applications, operating system Tails (privacy and anonymity). Linux distros specialized in sexual protection), the Tor protocol that allows anonymous browsing on the Internet, and public Wi-Fi to enhance the security of communication methods and to adopt covert behavior. 'It was said that it was written.
The sentence was repeated over 100 times in the document and was uncritically quoted by organizations involved in investigations and investigations. In addition, 150 questions were asked to the defendants who used the Internet using such high security technology, such as why they used encryption tools.
The evidenced actions of the terrorist plot included the following:
・Used applications such as Signal, WhatsApp, Wire, Silence, and ProtonMail that encrypt communications.
・Use of privacy tools such as VPN, Tor, Tails, etc.
・Used services such as
・Encrypted digital media.
・Planned and participated in a digital security training class.
• Simple ownership of technical documentation.
Other software and services named by authorities as 'backing the will to live in hiding' include GrapheneOS , Jitsi , OnionShare , RiseupVPN , Orbot , and ad blocker uBlock Origin .
From this point of view, La Quadrature du Net points out that ``criminalization of encrypted communication means'' and ``criminalization of IT skills'' has been done, and the use of encrypted communication such as Signal is evidence of terrorism. 'The police storyline, which mixes delusion, malice and technical incompetence, criticizes the defendant's good internet practices for the purpose of creating systematic secrecy and intrigue.' It was created by doing so,' he criticized.
In addition, a survey by La Quadrature du Net also found that the French judiciary considers distrust of major American IT companies, the so-called ' GAFA ', to be a sign of radicalization. This is because during the interrogation of the defendant, the authorities asked, 'Are you anti-GAFA?', 'What do you think of GAFA?', 'Do you have any resistance to communication technology?' Because I was asking the reason why I put it.
``The EU has been trying to reduce its dependence on GAFA for some time, and it is surprising that such an attitude has been seen,'' said get to text, a news site that featured an article in La Quadrature du Net. I invested.
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