App for politicians
In Washington, almost every congressional aide or political appointee uses Signal. If someone says, "Let's chat on Signal," it means they are about to discuss something sensitive or important. A recent Associated Press investigation found that more than 1,100 government officials in all 50 states use Signal.
Musk’s Government Efficiency Department is coordinating its efforts to cut government spending through Signal, according to reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Musk himself used the app when he acquired Twitter in 2022 and recently communicated with right-wing social media personality Ashley St. Clair through Signal. Claire claims she gave birth to a son for Musk.
Across the world, several governments have officially approved the use of Signal. In 2020, the European Commission required its staff to use Signal, saying the guidance applied to "public instant messaging." U.S. officials have not been so explicit, but according to a guidance issued late last year, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) urged senior government officials to immediately switch to end-to-end encrypted communications applications, with Signal being one of the preferred applications. The U.S. Senate has also approved the use of Signal by legislative staff.
Why is it popular?
Signal is operated by the Signal Foundation, an independent non-profit organization in the United States, and is recognized as the most secure instant messaging application on the market. It encrypts messages end-to-end, meaning what users say is encrypted on their device and only decrypted when it reaches the recipient. This method protects information from being intercepted and read during transmission, and cannot be obtained by any third party such as Internet service providers, hackers, or Signal itself.
Its underlying encryption technology is open source, which means that the relevant code is public and allows technical personnel outside the Signal Foundation to examine it and find vulnerabilities in it. The technology is also licensed and used by other services such as WhatsApp.
Signal says it collects only minimal user data and that its privacy protections have attracted criminals. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration noted in a 2022 report that drug traffickers often direct customers to turn to encrypted applications such as Signal for communication. Court documents show that on January 6, 2021, thugs planning to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States also used Signal to coordinate their attack on the Capitol.
In addition, campaigns against Trump’s drastic reduction in the size of the federal government and challenging long-term constitutional protections are also being launched on Signal. Civil service whistleblowers are turning to Signal to avoid surveillance by Trump appointees. Three recently fired employees told Reuters that their colleagues had downloaded the app.
Some anti-Tesla demonstrators who protested at Tesla dealerships across the country after Trump returned to the White House have also switched to Signal, according to a person active in the movement.
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