Even in free societies with ample access to the World Wide Web, the freedom to use the internet means nothing if we don’t have privacy. And
privacy means nothing if we don’t have encryption. That chain of logic
isn’t obvious to everyone, so let’s break it down in reverse:
Why is encryption necessary for privacy?
Most people will imagine encryption as a padlock. When you send an encrypted message over the internet, its contents are “locked” to
everyone but the recipient who holds the only key. “That’s nice,” you
might say. “But what if someone breaks the lock without the key? What if
someone has a blowtorch?”
And that’s where the metaphor breaks down. With physical locks, there’s always a way to pick them, saw them, or melt them open. And if a
lock is robust enough to resist all but the most motivated (and
well-financed) lock-pickers, then the lock itself is probably too
expensive for the general public.
Encryption, however, is not a physical lock—it is software. Once written, it costs virtually nothing to maintain and distribute. That’s
important because the more things we encrypt, the stronger our online
privacy. If only the sensitive information is encrypted, encryption
becomes a signal to surveillance organizations that the information
inside is worth monitoring!
But more important, unlike physical locks, encryption is protected by the laws of mathematics, which are unbreakable in the purest sense
possible. The standard encryption algorithm RSA, for example, is based
on factoring or solving a multiplication problem in reverse.
It’s easy to multiply two prime numbers to get a substantial number (hundreds of digits long), but you’d need a supercomputer and more than a
few lifetimes to waste if you wanted to figure out which two numbers
you started with.
Encryption works. Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on.
— Edward Snowden
That makes encryption the only practical tool we have to keep data private even if it is intercepted. Like Edward Snowden said, “Encryption
works. Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few
things that you can rely on.”
Why is privacy necessary for freedom?
“Okay,” you might be saying at this point, “I can see why criminals would need privacy. But I have nothing to hide. The NSA isn’t interested
in my chocolate chip cookie recipes.” Perhaps not. But the issue is
less about the information gained by those who spy on us, and more about
what it does to us.
Surveillance changes us. It’s a well-documented psychological phenomenon; people behave differently when they know they are being
watched, and usually not for the better. Observation impairs
performance, damages trust, and encourages conformity in those being
observed.
It doesn’t matter whether you have any skeletons in your closet; just the fact that your closet is open for scrutiny limits your
decisions about how you dress, walk, talk, and interact with other
people.
That’s an especially tragic consequence for societies that purport to be “free.” Neil Richards, professor of law at Washington University
in St. Louis, sums it up beautifully:
When we are watched, tracked and monitored, we act differently. There’s an increasing body of evidence that internet surveillance stops
us from reading unpopular or controversial ideas. Remember that our most
cherished ideas—that people should control the government, that
heretics should not be burned at the stake and that all people are
equal—were once unpopular and controversial ideas. A free society should
not fear dangerous ideas, and does not need complete intellectual
surveillance. Existing forms of surveillance and policing are enough.
— Neil Richards
A step in the right direction
With the growing need for encryption in a free society, it’s no surprise that the U.N. has taken a special interest. In a 2015 report
from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, special
rapporteur David Kaye said:
Encryption and anonymity, and the security concepts behind them provide the privacy and security necessary for the exercise of the right
to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age. Such security
may be essential for the exercise of other rights, including economic
rights, privacy, due process, freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, and the right to life and bodily integrity.
— David Kaye
That’s a firm step toward progress, but the report did make an allowance for “court-ordered decryption” on a “case-by-case basis” (the
equivalent of giving the TSA a universal key to your luggage). Companies
like Google, Microsoft, and Apple have spoken out against similar
legislation in the U.S., despite officials at the highest levels
remaining “sympathetic” to law enforcement.
Let’s hope the U.N. continues to be sympathetic to the link between encryption and freedom itself.
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