Re: Schneier, Data and Goliath: no hope for privacy

D <nospam@example.net> writes:

On Wed, 19 Feb 2025, Salvador Mirzo wrote:
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D <nospam@example.net> writes:
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[...]
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Note that signals backend is not open source. The backend software
might be, but we have no direct access to their implementation and
running of it.
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That said however, I trust them way more than FB, and I think they
have high ethical standards, so I would not worry about it.

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Can't Signal eventually be bought off?
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Interesting question. They are a foundation so that does put some
legal limitations on such scenarios. However! So was/is Open AI and
look what happened there.
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So I assume, since it is based in the US that the answer to your
question is a "yes". But I am not a lawyer. ;)

Lol.  When you want to say you're not a lawyer, you should say IANAL,
which is one of these ridiculous USENET acronyms. :) But what I really
think is that nobody should say IANAL.  Lol.  First, who cares?  Lol.
Second, it's almost never illegal to give your opinion on anything.

But, yeah.  You gave us a great example.  Open AI was a non-profit
organization later turned for-profit.  So, the same nonsense could
happen to Signal unless it has made any sort of unusual special
arrangements.

Companies and political parties (which are the same thing) should
formalize for-life commitments.  For example, a Senate candidate, a
Republic president and so on should register in writing some principles
and promises that they actually must live up to, lest they be impeached.

Take a look at YouTube.  The world has invested 15 billion videos in it
and now it needs to pay for viewing them by lack of privacy and ad
viewing.  I can't recall when the world actually agreed to this deal.
Deals should be clear from the very start.

For me to use Signal, say, I'd need a for-life promise that it would
never be taken over from me.  But, actually, I wouldn't use it either
way because I just prefer a decentralized system.  Signal should
redesign itself in a decentralized manner so that perhaps I could host
my own server (for my own communication), say.  Just like e-mail and
news are.