“Once again we see bureaucrats with a poor understanding of how modern technology works deny ordinary people their right to privacy,” says Element, a Matrix-based end-to-end messenger service, on the recent blocking of their application by the Indian government. Element claims to be unaware of the true reason why it was banned and suggests that it learned from news reports that it was banned under Section 69A of the Information and Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). This is one of the 14 applications that were blocked in Jammu and Kashmir under Section 69A for allegedly helping terrorists and for not having representatives in India. What is Matrix? Matrix is a decentralized open-source communication project, which allows calling and instant messaging between its users regardless of what app they use to carry out the communication, and also facilitates end-to-end encryption. The Element messaging app is built on top of the Matrix network. Why it matters: While the government alleges that it has banned the abovementioned apps for their use by terrorist groups, in doing so, they have taken away the average person’s ability to communicate privately. Element’s statement further highlights the underlying problems with bans. “A simple parallel is that banning Element because it gives access to the Matrix network is the equivalent to blocking Google Chrome because it gives people access to the web, or Gmail because it gives people access to email,” the company mentions. Besides, the statement also reveals a much bigger issue: the platform claims it received…
