Signal on the Desktop, Plays FBI Subpoena

[grarpamp]

https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/10/04/2144202/encryption-app-signal-wins-fight-against-fbi-subpoena-and-gag-order
http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/signal-subpoena-privacy-gag-order/
https://apnews.com/2bed090d3ec042cab375278b636ff5e5/US-subpoena-tests-privacy-promise-of-encrypted-messaging-app
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/technology/subpoenas-and-gag-orders-show-government-overreach-tech-companies-argue.html
https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/open_whisper_documents_0.pdf

Signal, widely considered the gold standard of encrypted messaging
apps, was put to the test earlier this year when a FBI subpoena and
gag order that demanded a wide range of information on two users
resulted in a federal grand jury investigation in Virginia. The makers
of Signal, Open Whisper Systems, profoundly disappointed law
enforcement. The app collects as little data as possible and therefore
was unable to hand anything useful over to agents. "That's not because
Signal chose not to provide logs of information," ACLU lawyer Brett
Kaufman told the Associated Press. "It's just that it couldn't." "The
Signal service was designed to minimize the data we retain," Moxie
Marlinspike, the founder of Open Whisper Systems, told the New York
Times. The subpoena came with a yearlong gag order that was
successfully challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Signal's creators challenged the gag order as unconstitutional,
"because it is not narrowly tailored to a compelling government
interest." The challenge was successful. In addition to being
popularly considered the best consumer encrypted messaging app
available, Signal's technology is used by Facebook for Secret
Conversations, WhatsApp for encrypted messages, and Google's Allo.
Confronted with the subpoena, Marlinspike went to the ACLU for legal
counsel. The ACLU responded with a letter saying that even though
Signal did not have data the FBI sought, it still strenuously objected
(PDF) to the fact the FBI wanted so much information.