Secure Communication Constraints

Purpose

This document defines non-negotiable constraints governing communication systems operating under the Humanity Framework.

Its purpose is to preserve:

• freedom of expression
• privacy and confidentiality
• resistance to censorship and coercion
• truthful representation of security claims

Communication safety is a prerequisite for democratic participation, collective coordination, and resistance to tyranny.

Core Principle

If a system claims privacy, confidentiality, or end-to-end encryption, those claims must be materially true.

False or misleading security claims constitute harm.

Freedom of Expression Constraints

1. No Coercive Suppression

No authority may suppress expression solely due to:

• dissent
• criticism
• unpopular beliefs
• nonconformity

Restrictions on expression must be:

• explicitly defined
• harm-based
• transparent
• appealable

Silent suppression is forbidden.

2. Transparency of Moderation

If communication is moderated:

• moderation rules must be public
• enforcement actions must be visible to affected parties
• reasons must be provided
• appeal mechanisms must exist

Algorithmic moderation must not operate invisibly.

Privacy and Confidentiality Constraints

3. Truthful End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)

A system may claim end-to-end encryption only if:

• plaintext is accessible exclusively to the communicating endpoints
• no intermediary possesses decryption capability
• no escrow, backdoor, or silent recovery mechanism exists

If any exception exists, the system must not claim E2EE.

4. No Deceptive Privacy Claims

Systems must not:

• claim privacy while retaining decryption capability
• imply confidentiality while harvesting content
• obscure metadata collection that materially weakens privacy

If backups, metadata, or recovery mechanisms weaken confidentiality, those limitations must be disclosed continuously and prominently.

5. Key Ownership and Control

Cryptographic keys must:

• be generated and controlled by users
• never be silently exported
• never be substituted without user knowledge

Server-managed keys invalidate E2EE claims.

Metadata and Surveillance Constraints

6. Metadata Minimization

Systems must minimize collection of:

• identity linkages
• social graphs
• communication timing
• behavioral fingerprints

Metadata that enables coercion or targeting is treated as sensitive as content.

7. No Undeclared Surveillance

Surveillance capabilities must:

• be explicitly disclosed
• be narrowly scoped
• require meaningful consent
• be auditable

Undeclared surveillance is a severe safety violation.

Resilience and Censorship Resistance

8. Resistance to Centralized Control

Communication systems must not rely on:

• single points of narrative control
• unilateral shutdown authority
• opaque ranking or suppression mechanisms

Decentralization is preferred where feasible.

9. Degradation Without Silence

When communication systems degrade:

• failure must be visible
• messages must not be silently dropped
• users must be informed of loss or delay

Silent failure is equivalent to suppression.

Accountability and Auditability

10. Verifiable Claims

Security and privacy claims must be:

• technically verifiable
• auditable by independent parties
• reproducible in principle

Marketing language does not substitute for proof.

Enforcement

Any system that violates these constraints:

• forfeits its claim to secure communication
• must not be trusted for voting, governance, or safety-critical use

Claims of E2EE or privacy that are untrue constitute deception and harm.

Relationship to Other Documents

• Ethical Principles define why expression and privacy matter.
• Safety and Responsibility define harm boundaries.
• Transparency Guarantees define observability requirements.
• Voting Integrity Constraints depend on these guarantees.

Summary

Freedom of expression requires privacy. Privacy requires truthful encryption. Truth requires transparency.

Communication systems that lie about security undermine democracy by design.