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No we’ve had the backdoor discussion on and off for the last 30 years at least, during which people have been able to communicate privately over long distances.
by dcow 5y ago
No we’ve had the backdoor discussion on and off for the last 30 years at least, during which people have been able to communicate privately over long distances.
I’m interested in reports that human trafficking is on the rise. I wasn't aware this was becoming more of an issue. Is there correlation between the introduction of mobile phones and an increase in human trafficking that would suggest new technology is an enabling factor?
- dev_tty01 5y agoGiven the rate of government recognition and response to issues, I would classify the last 30 years as new. However, I'm not sure about the private assertion. The first cell phones were analog and anyone with a scanner could listen in. Any agency with a court order can listen to digital cell phone calls. Email, SMS chats, etc. are all accessible via court sanctioned search permits. End-to-end encryption has enabled truly private communication (ignoring NSA high compute capabilities) and that has not been available in a widespread way until the last few years. I'm not referring to computer knowledgable HN types. I'm not aware of a study looking at that particular correlation, but there is plenty of data available on the problem itself. I wouldn't be surprised if such a study exists though. I am no expert, but I have read reports from what I at least consider reputable sources. Its an easy search.
- dcow 5y agoI’m just curious if you can plausibly make the correlation between more encryption and more terrorism and sex trafficking.
- nl 5y agoCorrelation isn't particularly useful or interesting for time series where both things are increasing. You need to look at actual incidents: Has encryption been used to disrupt investigations of terrorism and/or sex trafficking.