The Guardian

Lawmakers argue that mass surveillance will help to protect children. But the implications for our privacy and security are staggering.

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‘The idea is for every digital platform – from Facebook to Signal, Snapchat and WhatsApp – to scan users’ communications.’ Photograph: Artur Marciniec/Alamy.

In my 20 years of being a reporter, I have rarely come across anything that feels so important – and yet so widely unnoticed. I’ve been following the attempt to create a Europe-wide apparatus that could lead to mass surveillance. The idea is for every digital platform – from Facebook to Signal, Snapchat and WhatsApp, to cloud and online gaming websites – to scan users’ communications.

This involves the use of technology that will essentially render the idea of encryption meaningless. (...)

Cybersecurity experts have already made their opinions clear. Rolling out the technology will introduce flaws that could undermine digital security. (...)

And the question of whether circumventing encryption to scan our personal data would benefit child protection online remains a contested one. (...) “Encryption is key to protecting kids as well: predators hack accounts searching for images.”

The great concern, of course, is that states that acquire the power to order the scanning of our messages searching for child abuse content will also use those abilities for nefarious ends. In a joint opinion about the CSAM regulation proposal, the two key European data protection watchdogs have warned that in practice the legislation “could become the basis for de facto generalised and indiscriminate scanning of the content of virtually all types of electronic communications of all users in the EU”. (...)

“The security and intelligence community have always used issues that scare lawmakers, like children and terrorism, to undermine online privacy.” (...)

At the moment, the legislation is stalled due to a blocking minority of EU member states. (...) But no one doubts that soon there is going to be another attempt.

It is this persistence to push through regulations that could make EU citizens less safe online that makes the general absence of progress on other actual growing cybersecurity threats in Europe so frustrating. (...)

It seems like many policymakers in the EU want to prioritise a controversial law that could lead to more surveillance and worsen digital security, instead of more straightforward solutions that would create a safer internet. (...)

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Tags: #english #eu #european union #mass surveillance #surveillance #csam #child sexual abuse material #internet #child abuse #data protection #encryption #messenger

Sharing here because this is an idea I've floated in my head for some time now and might be fun for some folks to tackle, my spacey brain tends to not allow me to execute on these ideas that much.

Obviously you could make a video game console out of a Raspberry Pi using an emulator OS and a controller but this gives you everything in the Pi itself which is convenient, but misses some of the fun vibes of having a console by not featuring actual collectible media and box art, etc. So the idea I was toying with was to take individual SD cards and make them single purpose: boot into a very minimal OS with Xorg and Matchbox Window Manager, have it run a single emulator and have that emulator run a single game. This way there is a "one game to one card" ratio. It's now a plug and play game cartridge!

So you could then set up an enclosure, wire an SD card port connecting to both the real port and the case. Do something similar with a controller port so you can just use what you like, i.e. SNES or Playstation or something. 5v power jack connecting to the Pi as well and a power button.

Could even go the extra mile and incorporate some cool designs for the Pi case, and make box art for your games. If it's a full sized SD card with an indent you could make a box art label for the "cartridge", and there's likely cases for SD cards similar in style to a DVD case. Develop and print your box art, maybe even make a manual, and you have a nice collectible "complete-in-box" little game for your little console.

Is this wholly unnecessary? Absolutely, but it seems like a fun project.

Only kink I haven't worked out is saving. Would be cool if you didn't need to shut down the Pi to save it appropriately - load the SD card to memory instead and only use the game in memory, shut down whenever and you're fine. But then the game still has to save somewhere. Hm.

Maybe I should just build an Uzebox...

#VideoGames #RaspberryPi #DIY

The European Union takes a decisive step in the digital transformation of healthcare with the adoption of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation on January 21, 2025.
This innovative text, having been approved by a large majority in the European Parliament on April 24, 2024, promises to redefine access to and sharing of medical information across the continent.

At the heart of this initiative is the desire to facilitate European citizens' access to their electronic health data, whether they are in their home country or another Member State. This major advancement will not only allow continuity of care when traveling within the EU but will also give patients increased control over the use of their medical information.
The EHDS is not limited to improving individual care; it also opens new perspectives for medical research and health innovation. By allowing researchers and policymakers to access secure and anonymized health data, the regulation promises to accelerate the development of new treatments, particularly for rare diseases affecting 30 million Europeans.

The implementation of the EHDS comes with robust guarantees for personal data protection. The regulation provides for the creation of digital health authorities in each member country, responsible for ensuring the application of the new provisions. Additionally, patients will have the option to oppose access to their data, except for strictly regulated purposes of general interest.

With a gradual implementation over the next 2 to 6 years, the EHDS represents an adaptation challenge for national health systems, but also an unprecedented opportunity. By harmonizing regulations at the European level, this regulation lays the foundation for a more integrated, efficient, and innovative digital health ecosystem, promising significant advances in the quality of care for all European citizens.

Link to the new regulation (in English): consilium.europa.eu/en/press/p…

#DigitalHealth #EHDS #MedicalInnovation #HealthData #EUHealth #EHDS