The EU's Two-Tier Encryption Vision Is Digital Feudalism

Sam Altman's warning about ChatGPT highlights a growing concern about trust in the digital age, dominated by software and AI. Encryption is positioned as the cornerstone of digital security, safeguarding privacy and trust in a world of algorithms. Unlike policies, encryption is a mathematical contract that cannot be weakened without risking everyone's security. The European Commission's ProtectEU initiative, proposing pre-encryption scanning, is criticized as a blueprint for digital feudalism. This initiative could create a system where privacy is a privilege for the powerful, not a right for all. Web3's mission of truth by verification, using cryptography, offers an alternative to surveillance and centralized control. Decentralized systems should avoid backdoors which re-establish central points of failure. Emerging cryptographic tools like zero-knowledge proofs offer ways to balance security and freedom. Strong, universal encryption is essential for a safe, inclusive, and resilient digital world, protecting individual rights, not concealing secrets.