The controversy regarding clandestine electronic surveillance programmes conducted by government bodies like the National Security Agency has been going on for a while. And the concern regarding the privacy of online communication has forced quite a few online services to shut shop. The latest to come up on the list is legal analysis blog Groklaw.
The blog has been vocal about legal issues revolving around open source software, patents and technology at large for many years. The blog’s founder, Pamela Jones, has now said that the uncertainty of having a secure conversation online plays a big hand in the decision, according to an offical blog.
According to the post, the founder said, “The owner of Lavabit tells us that he's stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we'd stop too." Lavabit was an email service that was started in 2004, but suspended operations in the wake of blanket electronic surveillance programmes like PRISM being exposed. It should be noted that Lavabit was the secure email service that whistleblower Snowden reportedly used before the PRISM scandal broke out. The Groklaw founder said citing the importance of communication with her readers: “There is no way to do Groklaw without email.”
Online services like Groklaw are shutting shop due to privacy concerns
The primary reason behind closing the blog, according to Jones, is the revealing nature of metatdata and how it can impact communication. Rationalising this, the founder said the if the NSA were to monitor the metadata being generated from her blog, it would be able to pinpoint which parties she was talking to as well as the frequency at which the communication was taking place. And the Groklaw founder’s concerns don’t end there. Jones states that the NSA reportedly sees all emails going in and out of the US and also stores all encrypted emails for a period of 5 years. This time period may have been allocated because the period should be long enough to crack any encryption, according to the Verge.
Jones is not the only one who feels this way. Silent Circle, the operator of a secure email service, which has also shut shop, said last week that it was almost impossible to guarantee a private conversation online between two people. The shutdown of these services indicate a deep problem regarding privacy. The stance that most founders are taking is that it is better to terminate their offerings, rather than continue without being able to give complete security. Jones, rounding up her statement, says that she is committed to her decision. Rationalising her stance, the founder says, "I can't stay online personally without losing my humanness. For me, the Internet is over."
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