Is CSA really that widespread in Europe that everyone's chat messages have to be monitored? And if it is that widespread, shouldn't they try to address it socially to prevent CSA as much as possible rather than try to catch just the subset of tech-savvy abusers, that too after they've already committed CSA?
It’s not about CSA, it’s about illegal content. And laws change all the time.
For example, an individual can generate AI images of Hollywood actors using Stable Diffusion and a decently powerful computer. Said individual had the right to share those images online with a community.
Now however the sharing and distribution of said images is considered illegal in my USA state.
So, are the images said individual created and shared three years ago subject to prosecution? Even if the law went into effect 3 months ago?
> Even if the law went into effect 3 months ago?
No. The right not to be tried for actions that weren't crimes at the time is pretty universally applied in the west (I am not aware of the legal situation in other parts of the world, but I imagine it's honored there too). (Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights for the EU, Article I, Section 9 & 10 of the constitution for the US)
> So, are the images said individual created and shared three years ago subject to prosecution?
Generally, criminal acts are judged according to the rules of the jurisdiction where they happened, so I wouldn't be too worried about this. This isn't a universal rule though, so you won't find it enshrined in constitutions or treaties.
Of course not, it's just a pretense for passing this law because its political suicide to instead say "We don't want to do any actual police work and instead want to create a massive surveillance state and monitor everything you say and do so we can better control our populations."
CSAM is just the excuse, as it is with any other laws of this nature in the past.
What is "actual police work"?
Everyone in this debate understands that CSA is a pretext. Nothing is going to make any sense to you if you think ChatControl is an earnest and sincere to fight CSA in particular.
The ultimate goal is for computers to run only authorized programs and to license and monitor development tools like the Soviets monitored typewriters.
Agree completely. These laws are either a wedge for broader surveillance or a massive compromise on everyone else’s rights to catch a subset of a subset of users.
With the access to phones, underage teenager may be taking nude pictures of themselves. They should be put in jail where they belong. /s
I have a friend who performs court-ordered treatments of people convicted of sexual crimes. She frequently sees cases like this. Young teens sexting, parents of one of them find out, the other one gets in legal trouble. It is absolutely insane to see perfectly normal behaviour ruining lives because of misinterpreted laws and overbearing parents.
Chat Control would only make this sort of thing more frequent.