Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Salvador Mirzo <smirzo@example.com>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Schneier, Data and Goliath: no hope for privacy
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:35:39 -0300
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
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D <nospam@example.net> writes:

> On Wed, 19 Feb 2025, Salvador Mirzo wrote:
>
>> D <nospam@example.net> writes:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> 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.
>>
>> Can't Signal eventually be bought off?
>>
>
> 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.
>
> 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.