Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. This basically outlaws end-to-end encryption" said Joseph Lorenzo Hall chief technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) as four major tech industry coalitions wrote an open letter to the U.S. Congress yesterday after a discussion draft of the first bill attempting to tackle the heated FBI v. Apple encryption debate put forward by Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) was leaked online.
The bill revisits the issue of who has a right to the online or cellphone privacy available to American consumers through encryption and quickly reignites the increasingly public and longstanding battle between government and U.S. tech companies recently made public nationally in the FBI v. Apple case.
Ive got to say in my nearly 20 years of work in tech policy this is easily the most ludicrous dangerous technically illiterate proposal Ive ever seen" said Kevin Bankston the director of the New America Foundations Open Technology Institute.The Burr-Feinstein proposal coming on the heels of the recent outcry over the F.B.I.s attempt to have the Apple Corporation provide it a method to break the iPhone encryption security in order to gain access to the cellphone involved in the San Bernardino California pre-Christmas party killings would pit law enforcement agencies that seek easier access to consumers information against privacy and consumer advocates who maintain a strong consumer privacy or protection position specifically securing against government snooping.
The groups that signed onto the letter included the Internet Infrastructure Coalition of which Austin-based Golden Frog GmbH is a member. Golden Frog has been a national leader in standing for U.S. consumers personal privacy against government backdoors strongly opposing encryption backdoors of any kind.
The governments backdoor is every hackers front door said Golden Frog founder Ron Yokubaitis during a recent South-by-Southwest panel addressing the issue.
The major tech industrys coalition letter strongly opposes the bills draft citing negative consequences for both business and security in the U.S. as well as expressing concerns they say would leave U.S.-based technology companies at a disadvantage competitively."
Its effectively the most anti-crypto bill of all anti-crypto bills" CDTs Lorenzo Hall said
The Burr-Feinstein bill is hardly the first encryption legislation to be put forward but it is the first major push since the going dark" debate went into full gear in the high-profile fight between the FBI and Apple over an iPhone used by an alleged terrorist. In such
situations the bill would force companies to provide technical assistance accessing data on a device even if that company doesnt have the means to do so readily at hand.
There had been significant buzz and recent speculation about the potential contents of the long-rumored Feinstein-Burr bill until the draft was circulated by two United States senators on Wednesday.
The bill proposes that tech companies create a mandatory encryption backdoor" into their technologies enabling law enforcement and other governmental agencies to have access to consumers information and-or data with an appropriate warrant or court order.
The next steps for the bill are that it goes to the Senate Intelligence Committee which Senator Burr chairs and if passed could then proceed to the Senate floor. It seems unlikely however it is likely proceed as the Obama White House has stated it will not support the bill in its current form."
The majority of Congress has also seemed reluctant to support the bill as sources have recently referred to the bills direction as clueless" and unworkable.
- You can read more about the tech industry coalitions letter here and view the full letter here.
- Take Action: Tell Congress to stop the Burr-Feinstein Backdoor Proposal with this tool from EFF.
- Learn more about the dangers of backdoor encryption here.
