An encryption backdoor is an oxymoron. The mathematics behind cryptography and the realities of modern cybercrime mean that the presence of a single flaw in encryption technology ensures the inevitable failure of the entire system. Despite this, UK public support for this technological impossibility is high, 56% believing that the government should be able access encrypted files to keep us safe. But according to our Consumer Openness Index 2016, at the same time 62% are concerned about whom in the government has access to their data.
Let’s be clear, privacy rights do not exist to protect and shield the machinations of terrorists from the watchful eye of security agencies. They exist because privacy is an integral part of what it means to be free. They exist to prevent governments and businesses from knowing things about your private life that they have no business knowing. 4 out of 5 strongly believe in the fundamental right to privacy. Information that can unjustly affect your insurance premiums, limit your access to financial credit or get you fired. Forget the line: ‘but I have nothing to hide’, a life without privacy is no life at all.
British citizens clearly haven’t been adequately informed of the ramifications of the newly introduced Investigatory Powers Bill. Only 12% believe Theresa May’s explanations thus far have been sufficient. This is because it’s far easier to muster support for the powers the bill conveys when the specifics of the technological limitations and the importance of privacy rights are ignored. The UK government is instead simplifying matters, playing on the fear of terrorism to spur support for its security initiatives.
However, at its heart, the argument that privacy rights are at odds with security concerns is a fallacy. Privacy rights protect the entire population. When a government seeks to limit these rights they succeed in doing so only for the general populace. Criminals, terrorists and those who pose legitimate security threats will simply turn to methods of communication that cannot be intercepted. Increased surveillance powers fail to effectively restrict the practices of terrorists. Furthermore, they actually jeopardise the security of the rest of the public. 58% of the UK public is rightly afraid that compromising encryption technology will make is easier for criminals to steal personal data. If Theresa May passes her Investigatory Powers Bill without amendment this fear will become reality.
Read up on the full findings of this year’s Consumer Openness Index here.
