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The EU is still losing its mind over cookies. Every Euro site now has a big disclaimer about cookies. The hysteria, at least for Europeans, never ended. Which i

The EU is still losing its mind over cookies. Every Euro site now has a big disclaimer about cookies. The hysteria, at least for Europeans, never ended. Which is amusing considering how much local storage HTML5 can do and how easily it is to track people via their unique browser fingerprints, even with cookies and no plugins enabled. The reality is, of course, encryption was used in these attacks. These terrorists aren't stupid. That doesn't mean it needs to be banned the say way a randoms stabbing don't mean knives need to be banned. I think the people saying "No way, never no encryption has every been used for nefarious purposes" are just as bad as the other side. Having a sophisticated view of this stuff makes a lot more sense. Encryption will be like the gun debate. It will flare up from time to time. Its an easy horse to beat because its too technical for the layperson to really have a good understanding of and clearly there are political elements that would love Clinton-era laws limiting key size and such. The reality is that this ship has long sailed away. The genie is long out of the bottle to control encryption like its 1993.

GrinningFool 11y ago
Yes. And (as someone pro-gun) the unconnected statistical arguments ("More people die from X every year..." and the hyperbolic arguments along the lines of, "You could kill someone with a knife, let's ban them!" are offensive to me. Unfortunately, I'm already seeing similar hyperbolic arguments about cryptography - "let's outlaw math", etc. As you implied, I'd like to see a rational discussion. Yes, cryptography can and will be used for nefarious purpose -- but it's used in much greater capacity for legitimate purposes. That's what needs to be emphasized - it's the only logical, supportable argument to make.
wintermute306 11y ago
I know, it's hilarious and annoying to be honest. It shows how behind the EU really is. Pretty much all the British digital policies are silly. I think the simple thing they seem to not understand is that the Internet is smarter and moves fast than policy.

GrinningFool 11y ago

Yes. And (as someone pro-gun) the unconnected statistical arguments ("More people die from X every year..." and the hyperbolic arguments along the lines of, "You could kill someone with a knife, let's ban them!" are offensive to me. Unfortunately, I'm already seeing similar hyperbolic arguments about cryptography - "let's outlaw math", etc. As you implied, I'd like to see a rational discussion. Yes, cryptography can and will be used for nefarious purpose -- but it's used in much greater capacity for legitimate purposes. That's what needs to be emphasized - it's the only logical, supportable argument to make.

wintermute306 11y ago

I know, it's hilarious and annoying to be honest. It shows how behind the EU really is. Pretty much all the British digital policies are silly. I think the simple thing they seem to not understand is that the Internet is smarter and moves fast than policy.