From the BBC: Encryption key to free speech, says UN report.

Encryption software that makes it hard to spy on what people do and say online is “essential” for free speech, says a United Nations report.

Without anonymising tools, many people will find it far harder to express opinions without censure, it says.

Any attempt to weaken encryption software will only curb this ability, it warns.

The report comes as many governments seek to put “backdoors” in encryption software to aid law enforcement.

“Encryption and anonymity, separately or together, create a zone of privacy to protect opinion and belief,” says the report written by David Kaye, a special rapporteur in the UN’s office of the high commissioner for human rights. [continue]

This is awesome.