4 ms·

The EU budget is 148 Billion Euros. Surely, if they have a requirement for a secure communication app, they have the wherewithal to build one for their needs, t

by jariel 7y ago

The EU budget is 148 Billion Euros. Surely, if they have a requirement for a secure communication app, they have the wherewithal to build one for their needs, that EU citizens and others could then use if they so chose? Essential knowledge is definitely public. This is not about 'Signal' it's about why governments can't/won't deliver on so many issues they themselves deem to be very materially important to them, particularly in the area of IT.

cpach 7y ago
As a citizen of a EU member state I would rather see them use Signal than try to come up with their own solution. It is true that they could throw a lot of money on the problem. But that in itself does not guarantee that they outcome would be a world-class communication system. So given that Signal already exists and is the gold standard for secure communications, IMHO it’s better to use that. What the EU can do however is to fund cryptography research. (And it would not surprise me if they already do.)
- bloopernova 7y ago
  I'd like to see the EU contribute to the Signal (or Keybase!) ecosystem. A rising tide lifts all boats. From various comments in this discussion, I've discovered that Signal is open source and has reproducible builds, and the server is open source too. It would be possible for the EU to create its own "EU-Certified" Signal environment for use by people who wish to see their data remain in the EU.
Stevvo 7y ago
EU projects are often a bit of a mess; design by committee taken to the extreme, with each committee member being a nation.
- jeltz 7y ago
  That is not how the EU works, at least not the parts which I have some insight into. There is indeed a lot of design by committee but the countries have little to no say in the day to day work of the EU agencies.
M2Ys4U 7y ago
148 Billion Euros might sound large, but in terms of governmental spending it's pretty small (especially on a continental scale) and there, of course, other things competing for this money.
GlitchMr 7y ago
Chances are, if government would make a "secure communication app" it would suck (unlike private companies, government has no interest in making applications usable because they usually have no competition - if you have to use them, you have to use them). The projects are usually done by external contractors which will implement the unusable project that technically meets the requirements (implementing more is a waste of money). Add cryptography into an equation (cryptography is notoriously difficult to get right), and you have a recipe for disaster.
LatteLazy 7y ago
The EU has 27 (?) member states (plus others). All those governments have intelligence agencies. All of those want to know what MEPs are thinking etc. All of them have veto powers...
- nicky0 7y ago
  Nobody cares what MEPs are thinking.
pergadad 7y ago
It's not for official or internal communications, just to replace any use case currently covered by the likes of WhatsApp.

by jariel 7y ago

cpach 7y ago

As a citizen of a EU member state I would rather see them use Signal than try to come up with their own solution. It is true that they could throw a lot of money on the problem. But that in itself does not guarantee that they outcome would be a world-class communication system. So given that Signal already exists and is the gold standard for secure communications, IMHO it’s better to use that. What the EU can do however is to fund cryptography research. (And it would not surprise me if they already do.)

bloopernova 7y ago
I'd like to see the EU contribute to the Signal (or Keybase!) ecosystem. A rising tide lifts all boats. From various comments in this discussion, I've discovered that Signal is open source and has reproducible builds, and the server is open source too. It would be possible for the EU to create its own "EU-Certified" Signal environment for use by people who wish to see their data remain in the EU.

Stevvo 7y ago

EU projects are often a bit of a mess; design by committee taken to the extreme, with each committee member being a nation.

jeltz 7y ago
That is not how the EU works, at least not the parts which I have some insight into. There is indeed a lot of design by committee but the countries have little to no say in the day to day work of the EU agencies.

M2Ys4U 7y ago

148 Billion Euros might sound large, but in terms of governmental spending it's pretty small (especially on a continental scale) and there, of course, other things competing for this money.

GlitchMr 7y ago

Chances are, if government would make a "secure communication app" it would suck (unlike private companies, government has no interest in making applications usable because they usually have no competition - if you have to use them, you have to use them). The projects are usually done by external contractors which will implement the unusable project that technically meets the requirements (implementing more is a waste of money). Add cryptography into an equation (cryptography is notoriously difficult to get right), and you have a recipe for disaster.

LatteLazy 7y ago

The EU has 27 (?) member states (plus others). All those governments have intelligence agencies. All of those want to know what MEPs are thinking etc. All of them have veto powers...

nicky0 7y ago
Nobody cares what MEPs are thinking.

pergadad 7y ago

It's not for official or internal communications, just to replace any use case currently covered by the likes of WhatsApp.