Meinung: Wenn Gardaí auf unsere WhatsApps und Chats zugreifen kann, um Kriminalität zu untersuchen, könnte er nach hinten losgehen lassen
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025/08/13/letting-gardai-access-our-whatsapps-and-chats-to-investigate-crime-could-backfire/
Von KoolKat5000
19 Kommentare
„Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced plans in a speech recently to introduce a Bill that would require end-to-end encrypted messaging services, such as WhatsApp and Signal, to give gardaí access to private texts and chats.“
This is chat control, seems they’re doing it this way around.
Contact your TD’s and the minister.
Y’all are literally taking every last bullet out of my reasons not to live in china gun…..
As if this won’t be horrendously abused by a future government.
These idiots are utterly hopeless, honest to God.
A profound take.
There is that word again, „could.“ Oh, we know some Gardaí will use it to their advantage and there wont be any consequences for it.
Any backdoor would damage their rep so they won’t and Irish users will just install an apk from their site same as it was before they were on the play/app store.
The stupidity of Irish politicians that are West Tories is a bottomless pit.
Another potential system for abuse and misuse..
I’m solidly against it.
Is this not illegal under EU law after the Graham Dwyer case
WILL backfire*
Opinion? That’s a literal fact. Of course it’ll backfire.
Poor Jim obviously hasn’t a clue or didnt ask any experts about getting access to WhatsApp and the like.
Just in case Jim happens to be looking in here. I’m in his constituency and I gave him my first preference in the last election. I thought he was doing OK as Minister for Justice up to now, but if this poorly considered nonsense passes he’ll be competing with the crazies for a low preference next time around. There is at least a small electoral consequence to this stuff.
I’m old enough to remember a Garda taking the video of Dara Quigley’s psychotic episode, sending it around on WhatsApp with other Gardaí, who spread it further, and Quigley killing herself a few days later. To date, there has been no consequences for this beyond some internal disciplining of the Gardaí involved.
So personally, no I don’t want Gardaí looking at my WhatsApp, thanks.
It’s nonsense anyway. Nefarious parties will just pre-encrypt anything sent so all the Gardaí get is encrypted data.
How is this an opinion? This is a fact. They seem to be unwilling and unable to do anything to tackle antisocial behaviour even without going full Orwell. Having access to our messages will only make the crims use telegram and the rest of us will lose any privacy. Imagine the Gardai reading the messages you send to your partner and perv out in the station on a slow day.
Guess he proved you wrong
>We urge the Minister to engage in transparent consultation with cybersecurity experts, civil society and technologists before proposing any legislation that could irreversibly damage digital privacy and cybersecurity.
What if they endorse the plan?
Digital authoritarianism is a dangerous path. EU law protects our privacy, free speech, and access to information, so sweeping online surveillance or censorship would almost certainly be illegal.
Give the Guards those powers and they could track your online activity, collect your data without a warrant, and arrest people for posts that are just unpopular or critical of the government. That is how you kill free speech in a democracy. And the argument if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear won’t be valid either.
In the interests of giving both sides of the story, I think the Irish Times should publish my op-ed titled „COUNTERPOINT: Letting Gardai access our WhatsApps and chats couldn’t possibly backfire… Not a chance… Are ya mad?“