SoylentNews

mendax [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Wall Street Journal published a story [wsj.com] today about legislation that contains absolutely no surprises give the recent furor over the FBI's recent attempts to get Apple to hack an iPhone associated with terrorism:

Two key lawmakers Wednesday circulated a proposal that would require companies to unlock encrypted technology when served with a court order, a notable change in the law that could escalate the clash between Silicon Valley and Washington.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R., N.C.) and the panel’s vice chairman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), are seeking input on proposed legislation that attempts to address one of the thorniest security issues vexing policy makers—how to deal with the use of technology that cannot be read for law enforcement or national security purposes.

The 10-page “discussion draft” [senate.gov] would require firms, when served with a court order, to provide “such information or data” or “provide technical assistance as is necessary to obtain such information or data” when the government is seeking to obtain encrypted material.

A company would be required to assist the government if the data “has been made unintelligible by a feature, product, or service owned, controlled, created, or provided by the covered entity or by a third party on behalf of the covered entity.”

The article also states the obvious: This legislation has almost no chance of ever becoming law. The debate over this issue no doubt, however, will continue.

Original Submission