Encryption Is Not a Crime

Summary

Encryption Is Not a Crime Photo: Matt Artz / Unsplash Contrary to what some policymakers seem to believe, whether naively or maliciously, encryption is not a crime. Anyone asserting encryption is a tool for crime is either painfully misinformed or is attempting to manipulate legislators to gain oppressive power over the people. Encryption is not a crime, encryption is a shield. Encryption is the digital tool that protects us against all sorts of attacks. It is the lock on your digital door preventing harmful intruders from entering your home. Encryption is also the door itself, protecting your privacy and intimacy from creepy eavesdroppers while you go about your life. It's not a crime to lock your home's door for protection, why would it be a crime to lock your digital door? Encryption protects you from cyberattack, identity theft, discrimination, doxxing, stalking, sexual violence, physical harm, and much more. Who says encryption is a crime Anyone who is well-informed will find it hard to believe someone could want to sabotage such fantastic protection. Yet, year after year, oppressive regimes and lazy or greedy law enforcement entities around the world have attempted to undermine encryption using the pretext this is needed to "solve crime", despite all the experts repeatedly warning on how unnecessary and dangerous this would be. And this is without accounting for all the countries where encryption is already severely restricted, such as Russia, China, India, Iran, Egypt, Cuba, and others. Whether breaking encryption is brought up naively by misinformed authorities, or as a disguised excuse for mass surveillance is up for debate. Nevertheless, the result is the same: An attempt to destroy a tool we all need to stay safe. Encryption is a protective shield Encryption, moreover end-to-end encryption, is a tool we all use in our digital life to stay safe. In today's world, the boundary between online and offline life is largely dissolved. Almost everything we do "of...