Firechat & Privacy: Lost in Translation

Yesterday, some people were shocked to find their private conversations posted on twitter. Here was the major problem: their conversations were never private. When many people downloaded and started to use Firechat this past week in Hong Kong, some people initially thought that their conversations were private. When people hear the word “meshnet”, they automatically assume that the software running the meshnet is encrypted and secure.

Earlier today, I called Open Garden, the makers of Firechat. A man who identified himself as the CEO of Open Garden, Micha Benoliel, answered the phone. He said that he was on a business trip from India to China when the protests in Hong Kong broke out. After seeing the protests, he has decided to stay in Hong Kong for the time being.

I asked him if Open Garden had ever received any US government funding directly or indirectly. Benoliel said that Open Garden does not receive US government funding; instead, Open Garden is financed by private investors.

When asked if he was worried that the Chinese government might be monitoring or recording the chats, Benoliel said that he was not concerned at all since the information was already public information. Benoliel said that everyone knows Firechat is completely public, and Firechat is used by the Hong Kong protesters to broadcast information publicly. He characterized the episode yesterday, where people were able to retrieve conversations from Open Garden’s website, as trivial information that was already public.

According to Open Garden’s CEO, Firechat has been used under more mundane circumstances such as concerts, local dating, and the Burning Man festival. Firechat has also been used in other more extreme situations though, such as when the Iraqi government shut down the internet and when there were protests in Taiwan. Firechat still works in situations where the mobile phone networks are congested.

The Open Garden CEO said that encryption might come when Firechat releases private messaging, but it is not available now. When asked what type of encryption the private messaging would use, he said that it was too soon to tell which type of encryption would be implemented and he assured me that they are very well versed in security. Since many journalists are using Firechat in Hong Kong, Firechat has released its verified accounts feature, and he asked me if I would like a verified account.

A few hours ago, I downloaded the Firechat app. My registration for a Firechat account failed and I am not sure why. Open Garden’s website was also down today, and the Open Garden CEO said that they are making changes to the website. When I tried to register an account, I did not see any warning that the chats on the app are completely public. The links to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy were also not reachable.

The way in which developers talk about security and privacy gets lost on a lot of people who are not tech savvy. Many users falsely believe that software is more secure and private than it actually is. How developers talk and communicate with average users so often gets lost in translation.

 

Further Reading:

Firechat and Nearby Communication

FireChat Prepares Encryption Feature As It Drives Hong Kong Protests

‘Private Internet’ Firechat App Grows in Popularity in Iraq

I Complained To the UN About Anti-Net Neutrality Regulations

*This story was originally posted on Medium.com on September 15, 2014

 

Today, I sent complaints against the United States government to the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the International Telecommunications Union. The complaints were co-signed by Andrew Reitemeyer (Chairman of the New Zealand Pirate Party), Zacqary Adam Xeper (Representative of the New York Pirate Party), and Francisco George. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a federal agency of the United States government, is considering regulations which would destroy net neutrality.

The FCC is proposing internet “fast lanes” in which some companies would be able to buy faster service and relegate everyone else to the slow lane. The proposed regulations could also potentially give the cable companies the ability to discriminate against certain types of internet traffic. Cable companies could slow down their competitors’ services and pass on the costs to consumers. Potentially, the cable companies could also slow down the internet traffic of political speech they dislike.

Net neutrality is fundamental to the protection of human rights. In our current era where our digital lives mirror our lives in real life, having an open and free internet is fundamental to the protection of free speech and human rights everywhere. The death of net neutrality would also be the death of free speech online. Eliminating net neutrality is censorship in all but name. While the US government lambastes China and Iran over internet censorship, the US government is essentially proposing to implement the Great Firewall of America. Instead of outright blocking websites, censorship would take place through slow download speeds and the dreaded “spinning wheel of death”.

The United States continues to be a major hub for internet traffic traveling around the world. The FCC’s proposed regulations could have a detrimental impact on internet access for the rest of the world. If we do not act now, a few powerful American cable companies could decide what we can and cannot say on the internet.

It is time to stand up, speak out, and take back our internet.

You can read the complaints by clicking on the link here. I will add links of the responses to the complaints as they become available.

Please contact the FCC. Tell the FCC to support human rights and net neutrality.

1 888 CALL FCC (1–888–225–5322)

FCC Commissioners’ Emails
Tom.Wheeler@fcc.gov
Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov
Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov
Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov
Mike.O’Rielly@fcc.gov

The FCC will hold a series of roundtable discussions. The roundtable discussions will be broadcast online and can be seen by visiting http://www.fcc.gov/events. The hashtag for the roundtable discussions is #FCCRoundtables.

If you are a journalist or blogger and would like to interview me about the complaints, please email me.

The two images used in this article are under Creative Commons by Free Press. This article (excluding the images and video) is also under Creative Commons. You are free to republish this article (I do not own the rights to the images or video.) as long you republish the full text of the article and attribute the article to @ractack.