#PrivacyCamp23 - Critical as existential: The EU’s CSA Regulation and the future of the internet
Channel: European Digital Rights
Date: 2023-03-08

Ella Jakubowska started the panel by introducing the debate surrounding the CSA proposal which has been subject to criticism from a broad coalition of experts ranging from legal experts to computer scientists. The debate was kicked off with the participants articulating their understanding of ‘critical‘ and ‘digital‘. It would imply understanding the opportunities and limits posed by technology (Patric Breyer), they would reflect key principles of the CCC, i.e. computers can and should be used to do good, but at the same time mistrust in authority and decentralised systems were key (Elina Eickstädt), they implied that digital policy is also social policy and that we should thus be aware of existing power structures and their effects on vulnerable groups (Corinna Vetter).

Elina Eickstädt stressed that there is the belief among lawmakers that it was possible to undermine encrypted communication in a secure way would be an illusion. Encryption would be binary: either you have it, or you don’t. Screening content before it is encrypted via client-side scanning would break with the principle of end-to-end encryption, and that users are in total control of who can read their messages.

Corinna Vetter highlighted the social and labour policy issues of the CSA. Since no algorithm exists yet that could reliably detect CSA content, it would have to be done by people who would get access to private communications. Furthermore, we would already know from current content moderation practices that it is done by workers who suffer from very poor working conditions and the psychological impact of the content they have to review. Patrick Breyer presented how the CSA proposal would create a new and unprecedented form of mass surveillance.

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