Tech
EU Chat Control plans pose ‘existential catastrophic risk’ to encryption, says Signal | Computer Weekly
European proposals to require technology companies to scan the contents of communications sent through encrypted email and messaging services pose an “existential catastrophic risk”, it was claimed last night.
Encrypted messaging service Signal, which is widely used by governments, businesses and the public to send secure messaging services, warned that passing new legislation “negates the very purpose of encryption”.
The European Council is due to vote on Danish proposals on 14 October to mandate emailing and messaging services to install machine learning and scanning technology on mobile phones and computers to identify and report suspected child abuse images.
European Union (EU) member states are divided on the scheme, dubbed Chat Control, which has been widely criticised by cryptographers and security researchers who claim that mandatory scanning would create security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers and hostile nation states.
Signal’s vice-president for global affairs, Udbhav Tiwari, said that if the proposals became law they would introduce “massive glaring vulnerabilities” into operating systems used on phones and computers.
“Malicious actors will start using this capability to gain access that would simply be unthinkable for them under the current security paradigms of how operating systems have been implemented,” he said.
Under the Danish proposals, technology companies would be required to introduce client-side scanning technologies that will use hash functions to identify known abuse images and machine learning algorithms to identify unknown images. One way to enforce it would be to require software companies to introduce scanning capabilities in widely used operating systems, such as Windows, Apple’s MacOS and iOS, and Google’s Android.
Security vulnerabilities
Tiwari, speaking in an online-discussion, said that law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Europe have pressed for government devices to be exempt from mandatory scanning to protect the security of government data from security vulnerabilities.
“You can imagine, if an intelligence agency wants to make sure that its servers and services don’t have this technology, the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company probably doesn’t want its C suite to be susceptible to the same risks,” he added.
Critics say that Chat Control would be expensive to implement, as it would require EU countries to deploy thousands of law enforcement officers to manually review images that had been identified as suspect by scanning algorithms that are prone to produce false positives or false negatives.
The proposals are likely to face legal challenges if they are enacted, said Asha Allen, secretary general for the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe.
She said the European Council’s own lawyers had raised reservations about the lawfulness of the proposals.
The European Court of Human Rights, for example, found that in the case of Podchasov v Russia that attempts to weaken encryption or create “backdoors” are in breach of privacy rights.
The Chat Control proposals are “inherently disproportionate” as they would “require scanning private messages and content of users who have no allegations or suspicions or wrongdoing against them”, said Allen.
They are also likely to breach General Data Protection Regulation data protection regulations, which require people to give their “informed consent” before their private messages are scanned.
Those that refuse will not have full access to encrypted messaging or email services, in what Allen said amounts to “coercive consent” and a breach of data protection law.
Critics say that Europe may ultimately need to make it unlawful for people to use techniques that could bypass client-side scanning if the measures become law, by, for example, making it illegal to modify operating systems that contain client-side scanning software, and banning the use of virtual private networks.
Tiwari said that criminals and bad actors would find ways to circumvent Chat Control, but that people who want to use encryption for legitimate purposes would lose their privacy.
Top computer and security experts warned in a scientific paper that now-abandoned plans by Apple to introduce client-side scanning in 2021 were unworkable, prone to abuse by criminals, and a threat to safety and security.
EU member states are divided on the Chat Control proposals, with 12 in favour, including France, Denmark and Spain. The Netherlands, Finland and Poland are among six countries opposing. The eight undecided states include Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Greece.
Tech
Squarespace Promo Codes: 10% Off November 2025
Squarespace helps small businesses and regular Joe Schmoes to get software help to build their own websites (for both personal and business), even including the commerce side of things with point of sale, inventory, and customer data features (both online or in person). In the age where literally everything is digitized and accessed through the World Wide Web, having an online presence is the most important thing you can do for your business or brand’s growth. Creating a website can be difficult, with the HTMLs and coding and what not—that’s where Squarespace comes in. And we’ve found some of the best Squarespace discounts to help you save while growing your business.
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Tech
Europe tackles e-waste with eco-friendly innovation that helps reuse and repair
Researchers are developing reusable and environmentally friendly electronics for the health care, consumer and manufacturing sectors, replacing scarce materials with circular alternatives to build a sustainable future.
Europe’s appetite for electronics keeps growing, but so does the waste. From smartphones and laptops to medical sensors, more devices mean mounting piles of discarded hardware.
According to Eurostat, around 5 million metric tons of electronic waste is collected for recycling in the EU each year. That is more than 11 kilograms per household, enough to cover around 2,000 football pitches stacked a meter high.
These 5 million metric tons represent less than 40% of the total mass of electronics put on the European market annually. The rest often ends up in landfills because mixed materials make recycling difficult.
Smarter design
To tackle this challenge, the SUSTRONICS initiative is rethinking how electronics are made, from the materials used to the way products are assembled and repaired. Led by Dutch technology company Philips, it brings together 46 partners from 11 countries. The three-year initiative runs until May 2026.
“The SUSTRONICS researchers focus mainly on fundamental research into new solutions,” explained Ramon Caanen, who leads a sustainability consulting team at Philips.
This includes the use of bio-based, paper-based and more widely available materials, the sustainable manufacturing of electronic components as well as designs that enable better recycling.
The researchers’ goal is to embed sustainability into design, production and functionality, so that products can be better reused and more easily recycled.
That focus has gained urgency since the EU introduced new regulations on eco-design and the right to repair in 2024. They are meant to extend product lifespans, improve energy efficiency and make repairs simpler. They also aim to reduce environmental impact and promote a more circular economy with less waste.
Health care pilots
Health care is one of SUSTRONICS’s main proving grounds. While connected medical devices can improve patient care, their single-use electronic parts add to the e-waste problem. Three pilot studies are developing sustainable electronics for health care.
At Swedish hygiene company Essity Hygiene and Health, a partner in the global research, principal scientist Shabira Abbas is working on a smart incontinence pad designed to make life easier for both patients and staff.
The device is known as a change indicator and alerts staff when a pad needs replacing. A small clip-on reader sits outside the pad, is cleaned between patients, and is reused with each new pad.
“It is designed to improve both skin health and dignity,” said Abbas.
A removable electronic strip inside the pad measures temperature, humidity and enzymes. It can be recycled separately where facilities allow. The team uses paper substrates and 3D-printed metal-oxide sensors to reduce the use of material.
The pad also requires a small reader, which sits outside the pad, to transmit data to staff. This clip-on reader can be reused with each new pad.
“In between patients, you have to clean the reader, but otherwise they are reusable,” said Abbas. Her team’s challenge is making the connector foolproof and easy for staff to attach and remove.
They are also working on energy efficiency, adapting software to use minimal power while processing pad data. This is vital for medical devices that must run continuously, since the combined energy demand of many units greatly increases their overall carbon footprint.
The other two pilot devices include a skin patch for tracking glucose metabolism and a smart dressing for wounds, which signals when it needs replacing. In today’s medical practice, both are still single-use, so sustainability is a key challenge.
Better materials
The SUSTRONICS team is also exploring ways to improve production efficiency and use recyclable or environmentally friendly materials whenever possible. Part of the solution is moving to more common resources from those that are scarce and environmentally harmful, such as silver.
“Silver has a high upstream footprint. Replacing silver with more common materials such as copper or carbon can lower impact significantly. But the key challenge is to make these substitutes perform well in their intended electronics application,” said Caanen.
Beyond medical devices, pilots also target repairability in shavers and lighting, easier dismantling for recycling, and lower energy use.
Looking ahead
Their work ties in with wider EU goals. A new Circular Economy Act, expected in 2026, will create a stronger market for recycled materials, boosting both supply and demand across Europe. It supports the EU’s ambition to lead the world in circular economy practices by 2030.
Today, only about 12% of Europe’s materials are reused or recycled. The target is to double this to 24% by 2030 under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.
Caanen hopes that SUSTRONICS will become a flagship project for sustainable electronics, by demonstrating how the European electronics industry can benefit from sustainable, alternative materials for electronic components, while maintaining competitiveness.
For hospital patients, innovations like the smart pad could mean greater comfort, dignity and quality of care, while also contributing to a more sustainable, circular economy.
By combining practical health care solutions with ambitious environmental goals, the SUSTRONICS team demonstrates how technological innovation can improve everyday lives and support Europe’s drive for sustainability.
In the long term, such efforts could transform both the electronics industry and health care, showing that small devices can have a big impact.
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Tech
WIRED Roundup: Fandom in Politics, Zuckerberg’s Illegal School, and Nepal’s Discord Revolution
Leah Feiger: Zoë, I am obsessed with this story. Before you continue, I think that it’s really important to say that Caroline, the lovely reporter of this story on your business desk, obtained 1,665 pages of documents about the dispute about Zuckerberg’s house. This story is canon now.
Zoë Schiffer: Caroline Haskins is a complete star. Our fact-checking team literally cried when I asked them. They were like, “Wait, sorry, how many documents are we looking through?” I was like, “Yes.”
Leah Feiger: Shout out to the WIRED research team.
Zoë Schiffer: Absolutely. The school, I think we just have to say, is named after one of the Zuckerberg family chickens. It’s called the Bicken Ben School.
Leah Feiger: I mean, hearing you say this, it’s, I know you’re being serious, but again.
Zoë Schiffer: So, the Crescent City neighborhood in Palo Alto, where the Zuckerbergs live, as you can imagine, is some of the best real estate in the entire country. It’s filled with these gorgeous homes, a ton of greenery. Mark Zuckerberg has been expanding his presence throughout the years in this ultra fancy neighborhood. The plot of land that the Zuckerbergs live on has expanded to include 11 previously separate properties. This is so funny and just such a nightmare. If you’re living on the street, you paid whatever, $5 million for your house, and suddenly all of your neighbors are Mark Zuckerberg.
Leah Feiger: Important to note that not all of them are connecting either. I don’t totally understand what that means. Do they walk through a neighbor’s porch to get to their horse’s pool? What does this entail?
Zoë Schiffer: We have more questions. We have to Google Earth this. I think there’s some holes in this story that we need to fill in. The expansion first became a concern for Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbors, back in 2016, due to fears that his purchases were driving up the market pretty dramatically. But then, about five years later, neighbors started noticing that a school appeared to be operating out of the Zuckerberg compound. So, this is illegal to do without a permit, at least under the area’s residential zoning code. And so, naturally, the neighbors started to alert the city. Caroline Haskins, the reporter on the story, obtained over a thousand documents, like you said, outlining the resulting fight between the neighbors and the city authorities, basically arguing that, it felt to them like the Zuckerbergs were getting special treatment.
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