Eleven associations announced this Monday that they are asking the government to oppose the European proposal on child sexual abuse, “which compromises the secrecy and encryption of communications,” and to make public “the position that Portugal defends.”
“As representatives of civil society, we hereby express our great concern and question the national position regarding the ongoing debate in the context of European regulation, which aims to establish rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse,” they said in a statement. The letter is addressed to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Permanent Representative of Portugal to the European Union (EU) and the Director General of the Directorate General of Judicial Policy.
“Portugal has a duty and opportunity here to defend fundamental rights. It is important that our country refuses to agree to this ruling without guaranteeing the protection of communications encryption and preventing general and indiscriminate surveillance,” he states in the document.
Subscribers note that “in its current version, the proposal not only puts people in critical professions such as doctors, journalists, lawyers and others at risk, but also reduces the security of communications of the potential victims it intends to protect.”
This is because, they argue, “children and young people use the same encrypted communication platforms to interact with each other, while parents, teachers, doctors and other professionals use the same platforms to communicate with them.” , and that is why, they conclude, “A proposal that reduces the safety of everyone, including the people it purports to protect, cannot be a solution.”
On the other hand, they recall that “the legal services of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, which advise member state governments, have published a scathing analysis of this proposed law, saying that the proposed measures pose a serious risk that “undermines the essence of the rights to privacy and protection data” by giving companies “general and indiscriminate access to the content of private communications.”
And they emphasize that “independent experts advising the European Parliament came to the same conclusion, adding that “this is interference [com os direitos humanos]… not justified.”
The letter is signed by ANSOL – National Free Software Association; APDSI – Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society; Association D3 – Digital Rights Protection; Portuguese Association of Librarians, Archivists, Information and Documentation Specialists (BAD); Portuguese Association for the Promotion of Information Security (AP2SI); Association of Data Protection and Security Professionals (APDPO); Protect Our Privacy Association (PrivacyLx); ESOP – Association of Portuguese Open Source Software Companies; Internet Society – Portugal Chapter (ISOC); VOST Portugal – Association of Digital Volunteers in Emergency Situations; and Wikimedia Portugal.
The bill was presented in May last year, and the deadline for submitting reasoned opinions expired in October. The European Parliament (EP) said that none of them had been received, but a dialogue had been opened with several institutions, including the Assembly of the Republic.
The same EP acknowledged that although the proposal was “generally (…) well received by stakeholders, (…) the debate is polarized, especially regarding possible violations (…) in encryption and interference. with data protection and privacy.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.