alt Hacker NewsNobody decided that it's a crime, and it's unlikely to happen. Question is, what do you do with mandatory snooping of centralized proprietary services that renders them functionally useless aside from "just live with it". I was hoping for actual advice rather than a snarky non-response, yet here we are.
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Most countries will throw you in jail for years if you refuse to give the password to encrypted devices they want. [1]
And that's even if you are innocent on the underlying charge or search.
Encryption in this political climate, is a pick your poison.
- Either you go to jail for years but you know your gov and other actors has no access to your data.
- or you store on remote/proprietary apps, stay free, but your gov or other actors may or may not have access to it.
I gave you the answer that exists: I'm not aware of any existing or likely-to-exist secure messaging solution that would be a viable recommendation.
The available open-source options come nowhere close to the messaging security that Signal/Whatsapp provide. So you're left with either "find a way to access Signal after they pull out of whatever region has criminalized them operating with a backdoor on comms" or "pick any option that doesn't actually have strong messaging security".
You're asking for a technical solution to a political problem.
The answer is not to live with it, but become politically active to try to support your principles. No software can save you from an authoritarian government - you can let that fantasy die.
> Nobody decided that it's a crime, and it's unlikely to happen.
Which jurisdiction are you on about? [1] Pick your poison.
For example, UK has a law forcing suspects to cooperate. This law has been used to convict suspects who weren't cooperating.
NL does not, but police can use force to have a suspect unlock a device using finger or face.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_disclosure_law