We can't be made to produce what we never had.
This page sets out where uOS stands under EU law. The starting point is not a legal category — it is a technical fact: uOS is a post-quantum, end-to-end encrypted web operating system that stores and transmits only ciphertexts it cannot read.
What uOS is — and is not
uOS is uOS: an end-to-end encrypted web operating system, and nothing else. It does not claim, and does not seek, the role of a content platform, a communications operator, or an arbiter of what its users store. In particular, uOS is not:
- An editor of user content within the meaning of Article 14 of the e-Commerce Directive. We do not select, modify, or curate user content. We do not have the technical capacity to do so.
- An electronic communications service or network within the meaning of the European Electronic Communications Code (Directive 2018/1972). We do not provide interconnection or access services.
- An entity with effective knowledge of user content within the meaning of Article 14(1)(b) of the e-Commerce Directive. Our servers only see ciphertexts they cannot decrypt.
What this implies
- EU law imposes no general obligation of active surveillance on intermediaries (CJEU, Scarlet Extended, C-70/10, 2011; Sabam, C-360/10, 2012).
- Any duty to remove specific content upon "effective knowledge" of its illegality cannot arise where the content cannot be read in the first place. uOS's servers only ever see ciphertexts they cannot decrypt.
- uOS cannot be compelled to produce content it does not hold. An obligation to provide information reaches only what is reasonably within a provider's control (Article 15(1) of Directive 2000/31/EC).
- Where a judicial order requires action that exceeds what is technically possible, uOS will seek judicial review. Such orders are disproportionate under the standard set by the CJEU in Tele2 Sverige (C-203/15, 2016) and reaffirmed in later case law.
Our guiding principle
In line with the advice of the Council Legal Service (May 2023) and the EDPB-EDPS Joint Opinion (July 2022), uOS treats the following as settled:
- End-to-end encryption is a manifestation of the fundamental right to privacy under Article 7 of the EU Charter and Article 8 ECHR. It is not in opposition to public safety; it is part of a balanced architecture of rights.
- Any obligation requiring the technical weakening or circumvention of end-to-end encryption constitutes a disproportionate interference under Article 52(1) of the Charter.
uOS will not cooperate with any order that violates these principles. Where cooperation is incompatible with our technical architecture, we will seek judicial review, beginning with the competent national courts, and proceeding, if necessary, to the CJEU by way of preliminary reference.