Irish Examiner view: State access to encrypted messages a slippery slope
Two-thirds of more than 1,000 Irish adults surveyed said that they would not trust the current or a future government to have the power to access encrypted messages on apps such as WhatsApp or Signal. File picture
The grip which social media exerts over almost everyone’s life has led to some unintended consequences, and the sharp decay of the very notion of privacy is just one.
Between the compulsive sharing of all aspects of one’s life on the platforms themselves, and the social media companies’ ravenous appetite for our personal data, privacy can sometimes appear to be an outmoded concept — but not always, going by the results of a recent survey.
As reported here by Cianan Brennan, that survey suggests a strong groundswell of opposition to legislation proposed by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan which would allow for the interception of all forms of communications, encrypted or not, by law enforcement.
The level of opposition is significant.
Two-thirds of more than 1,000 Irish adults surveyed said that they would not trust the current or a future government to have the power to access encrypted messages on apps such as WhatsApp or Signal.
The survey is being published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
The proposal articulates a classic dilemma, pitting the right to privacy of citizens in a democracy against the need for law enforcement to combat terrorists or criminals.
There is no doubt that such groups use encrypted messaging for their activities, and accessing such messages is a significant aid to combatting those activities.
The recent killings in Waterford have been linked to drug gangs, for instance, and all citizens wish to see justice done in this and similar cases.
However, allowing untrammelled access to messages as proposed by the minister is surely a mistake.
The misuse and mishandling of data by State organisations such as the HSE is one argument against the proposal.
So is the sense that such a step brings us further along a slippery slope to the complete absence of privacy, however one understands that term in the 21st century.
Accessing encrypted messaging services should require a court order rather than the carte blanche envisaged here.
The HSE is such a vast enterprise that it can be easy at times to point out its errors and oversights.
The organisation’s overall annual budget is within touching distance of €30bn, and by the end of last August it already had a financial deficit of just under €660m, with the Government anxious that that figure may reach €1bn by the end of the year.
As a consequence, any measure which would reduce the deficit should surely be considered and pursued.
Yet this week, two separate stories suggests that the HSE could be far more efficient with its finances.
On Wednesday, Diane DiGangi Trench, the Irish and UK head of pharma giant Sandoz, was reported as saying that Ireland could be saving up to €149m every year by using more lower-cost biosimilars, or cheaper copies of expensive biological drugs.
She pointed out that biosimilar competition had already delivered an estimated €239m in savings for the Irish healthcare system last year, and there was potential for even more savings if there were a greater uptake of those biosimilar options.
Also on Wednesday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told that over the past four years, across both HSE-run and voluntary hospitals, €125.1m has been written off in private insurance claims.
During that four-year period, €37.6m in revenue was written off as a result of the HSE not submitting claims to insurers properly, and it was not surprising that PAC chair John Brady focused on this matter: "Incredibly, it is explicitly stated that €37.6m of this sum was written off because claims were not properly submitted by the HSE... €37.6m lost because the relevant paperwork and process was not completed.”
The idea that the HSE has not collected over €37m it is owed simply because it did not complete paperwork may be difficult to believe, though it certainly helps to explain why its deficit is as large as it is.
Until such mismanagement is addressed that deficit is likely to increase.
Readers may not have been familiar with the Australian politician Helen Haines, but in recent days she has become yet another public representative subjected to a brutal attack.
The federal MP for the Indi constituency, she was struck by a car in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon, and surgeons were trying to save her right leg on Tuesday.
However, both legs have had to be amputated due to the seriousness of her injuries.
Australian police allege the attack was a targeted one and have charged Brendan Nugent with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and the commonwealth offence of causing harm to a commonwealth public official.
Ms Haines’s husband Phil said: “She is a determined person who will do her best with our support and love to recover, and that is what we hope for.”
This horrifying attack has devastated the Haines family who are understandably focused on their loved one’s recovery.
It is also a disturbing assault on democracy as a whole, and may be seen as part of a growing trend of hostility and aggression to politicians everywhere — a trend which must be checked as a matter of urgency.
Best wishes to Ms Haines as she recovers.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
