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Following a recent attempt in New York to legislate backdoors or ban encrypted devices, a California lawmaker is trying to do the same. Only this time, the boogeyman is human trafficking:
A second state lawmaker has now introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of smartphones with unbreakable encryption. Except this time, despite very similar language to a pending New York bill, the stated rationale is to fight human trafficking, rather than terrorism.
Specifically, California Assemblymember Jim Cooper's (D-Elk Grove) new bill, which was introduced Wednesday, would "require a smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, and sold in California, to be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider."
If the bill passes both the Assembly and State Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown (D), it would affect modern iOS and Android devices, which enable full-disk encryption that neither Apple nor Google can access. AB 1681's language is nearly identical to another bill re-introduced in New York state earlier this month, but Cooper denied that it was based on any model legislation, saying simply that it was researched by his staff. He also noted that the sale of his own iPhone would be made illegal in California under this bill.
Cooper himself, a 30 year veteran with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, told Ars that allowing local law enforcement to access unencrypted phones through the warrant process was not the same thing as allowing the National Security Agency or the CIA free rein. He also noted that "99 percent" of Californians would never have their phones be implicated in a law enforcement operation, implying that they should not have to worry.
Engadget puts it best: "The bill would put every Californian's digital security at risk to prosecute a few pimps."
In other Crypto War news, NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers recently said that "encryption is foundational to the future," staking an opposite position from that of FBI Director James Comey.
(Score: 2) by Bobs on Monday January 25 2016, @07:56PM
FYI: This bill is dead on arrival.
In CALIFORNIA the tech lobby will never allow this to pass.
The schmuck who introduced this stupid bill is either a moron (there are many is State legislatures) and/or he or someone else will be using this as an excuse to shake down the tech industry for contributions to kill the bill.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 25 2016, @09:55PM
He'll be in the good graces of where it counts, though, and will have demonstrated that he's "tough on crime". It could be that such notes are later used to look the other way when certain evidence of wrongdoing comes up.
Wasn't it the tea party that created a searchable database of all that opposed them, and sought to deny government jobs to people that signed petitions and voted for issues that they did not like?
We know the powers that be are good at databases; we know that some political groups are not above taking names and punishing people long after the single issue was a memory.
This is a case about data retention, we can presume no one will forget, and he'll go on the record as being a good citizen.