As Governments Seek Encryption Backdoors, Bitcoin Becomes Critical

On November 6, 2020, the Council of the European Union released a “Draft Council Resolution on Encryption.” It calls for a “better balance” between communication encryption and lawful access of that communication, both ensuring the continued implementation of strong encryption technology while also ensuring that “competent authorities must be able to access data in a lawful and targeted manner.”

This call for balance raised a red flag for privacy and encryption advocates around the world. Naturally, the privacy-focused Bitcoin community voiced concern about any resolution that would seek to weaken encryption. Though this particular draft resolution does not specifically call for encryption backdoors or loopholes, it offered a chance to consider regulators’ roles in pushing back on technology that allows unmonitored communications.

In this episode of the Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, Bitcoin Magazine's Peter Chawaga interviewed Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation about this dynamic between governments and encryption backdoors. The pair covered the recent draft resolution, the obstacles that those attempting to circumvent encryption will face, the importance of leveraging tools like Signal and Bitcoin and more.

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Timestamps:
0:00 - intro
2:34 - 3:35: Alex explains that this is kind of a nothing burger.
6:33 - 7:30 the plan to take down encryption by teaming up with tech
8:00- 8:44 discussing the conflict between the CCP and Chinese tech companies.
14:14 - 15:21 advice to Bitcoiners and the dream of the cypherpunks.

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