[Air-L] Outside Looking In - new CDT report on E2EE and content moderation

[Dhanaraj Thakur]

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to announce a new CDT research report launched today, 
/Outside Looking In: Approaches to Content Moderation in End-to-End 
Encrypted Systems/ 
<https://cdt.org/insights/report-outside-looking-in-approaches-to-content-moderation-in-end-to-end-encrypted-systems/>.

The report describes what end-to-end encryption (E2EE) means and what we 
should expect when a provider claims their service is E2EE. It also 
examines the viability of several current technical proposals that 
purport to introduce some form of content moderation (specifically, 
detection of unwanted content), while still providing an E2EE service. 
The report identifies two methods -- user reporting and metadata 
analysis -- that enable detection of unwanted or abusive content and 
still preserve E2EE. It also identifies several methods that claim to 
maintain E2EE but in reality do not, and other methods that require 
additional research. A more detailed summary of the report is available 
in this blog post 
<https://cdt.org/insights/report-outside-looking-in-approaches-to-content-moderation-in-end-to-end-encrypted-systems/>. 


The issues discussed in /Outside Looking In/ are particularly timely 
given Apple’s recent announcement 
<https://cdt.org/press/cdt-apples-changes-to-messaging-and-photo-services-threaten-users-security-and-privacy/> 
of changes to its Messages and iCloud Photos services, which has put a 
spotlight on E2EE and how to moderate content on E2EE services. Apple 
has designed new features intended to protect children online, and while 
this is a laudable and important goal, Apple’s approach will undermine 
encryption and the security it provides for all users. You can read more 
about CDT’s concerns about Apple’s announcement in this blog post 
<https://cdt.org/insights/what-could-go-wrong-apples-misguided-plans-to-gut-end-to-end-encryption/>.

Feel free to share and I hope this report will be a useful resource for 
you. We’d greatly appreciate any feedback you may have as well.

take care,

Dhanaraj

-- 

*Dhanaraj Thakur* (he/him) | Research Director
Center for Democracy & Technology |*cdt.org <https://cdt.org/>*
*E:* dthakur at cdt.org <mailto:dthakur at cdt.org> | *P:* +1 202 407 8849 | 
@thakurdhanaraj