“We’re aware of reports that access to Signal has been blocked in some countries,” Signal says. If you are affected by the blocks, the company recommends turning on its censorship circumvention feature. (NetBlocks reports that this feature lets Signal “remain usable” in Russia.)
I take that as a compelling recommendation for Signal.
You could also take it to mean that it’s compromised by the west.
Indeed… for example OTF (who is funded by US Congress) has provided funding for several large open source projects like Signal, Tor, F-Droid etc. and some have taken this to mean they might be compromised… but of course there’s no actual proof of that to my knowledge. And even in the linked article the author appears to use a bunch of half-truths and just straight up makes things up that don’t actually exist in the sources they say contain what he writes (example: OTF/Congress is not the CIA).
Personally I don’t have any suspicion or reason to believe they might be compromised, but if such proof ever did come around… I wouldn’t be surprised.
Legitimate countries don’t need to ban communications platforms.
Is tiktok ok?
I’d say social media platforms are an entire different beast.
Facebook is not the same as Facebook Messenger for instance.
We should allow the US surveillance giants into all countries, and let US companies control all world social media and communications platforms. Signal too, since it’s a US-hosted centralized service that must follow its NSL laws /s
I find these absolutist arguments particularly hilarious in face of UK now actively talking about restricting social media, and arresting people for posts. When people use media to incite violence and social unrest in countries the west considers to be adversaries, free speech stands above all other considerations. However, as soon as these things start happening in the west, then the restrictions on speech are immediately put into place.
Worth highlighting that Telegram in Russia and WhatsApp in Venezuela - both with vastly larger user bases than Signal - are not blocked…
But they are not as secure as Signal
Believe that’s the point.
I don’t think anyone took those seriously as private messengers. On another note, I think Maduro cracked down on WhatsApp as well, and called Venezuelans to cancel Meta altogether. Or something.
Just turn on the censorship intervention feature
based
That’s a glowing recommendation of Signal. And a good reminder to donate. I’m doing it right now.
Friendly reminder that Signal on Android contains proprietary code (google play services), and the server software is rumored to be closed now and/or not what they are actually using due to a lack of updates for a prolonged period. Of course it’s just a rumor and I have no way to verify that, but thought it was worth mentioning (hope this doesn’t count as FUD).
Molly-FOSS seems to be the preferred 100% open mobile alternative client.
Client/Server apps will do that in hostile countries, that’s why people are moving to decentralized messaging platforms such as Matrix
You can just as easily identify servers of a decentralized platform and block them. The disadvantage of a central service would come into play if say the US were to intervene, though Signal has already said they would move abroad if that was the case. For network level blockage it makes no difference if the service is central or not
This means it’s working.
Glad it at least seems easy to circumvent with a VPN
I wonder why these 2 countries specifically.
Some time ago it was reported that Russian Wagner groups have been spotted in Venezuela.
Now these 2 countries have banned Signal.
Show me what Stalinism looks like
This is what Stalinism looks likeHow is that Stalinist? Censorship isn’t some unique rare policy, even 5EYES countries regularly challenge the legality of E2EE.
