“A proposed bill in New York seeks to require that all smartphones sold in the state can be decrypted or unlocked and proposes hefty fines for vendors failing to comply,” Liam Tung reports for ZDNet. “The proposed law marks the latest effort by lawmakers to make it easier for law enforcement to access and read encrypted data stored on smartphones.”
“Should the proposed bill successfully pass through New York’s state assembly and senate,” Tung reports, “Apple and Google could face fines of $2,500 per device sold in the state after January 1, 2016, if a retailer knowingly sold a smartphone that could not be unlocked or decrypted by the device manufacturer or operating-system provider.”
“The proposed bill comes amid a long-running debate over backdoors and weakened encryption, in part sparked by Apple’s move with iOS 8 to encrypt data stored on iPhones by default,” Tung reports. “Google has implemented similar encryption for data stored on new devices sold that run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, though currently few are in consumers’ hands.”
“Techdirt, which first reported the proposal, notes that the proposed bill from New York Assemblyman Matthew Titone was first introduced on June 8, 2015 to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection,” Tung reports. “Titone has resubmitted the proposal to the same committee in the wake of a controversial white paper on smartphones, public safety, and encryption by New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Should such moronic idiocy ever pass, Apple, and Google, for that matter, should stop selling devices in New York State while directing all calls to the offices of New York’s state assemblypeople and state senators.
Adhere to the U.S. Constitution.
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Tim Cook lashes out at Obama administration over encryption, bemoans White House lack of leadership – January 13, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook opposes government back door to encryption – December 21, 2015
Donald Trump: To stop ISIS recruiting, maybe we should be talking to Bill Gates about ‘closing that Internet up in some way’ – December 21, 2015
Hillary Clinton: We need to put Silicon Valley tech firms to ‘work at disrupting ISIS’ – December 7, 2015
Tim Cook attacks Google, U.S. federal government over right to privacy abuses – June 3, 2015
Apple CEO Tim Cook advocates privacy, says terrorists should be ‘eliminated’ – February 27, 2015
Apple’s iPhone encryption is a godsend, even if government snoops and cops hate it – October 8, 2014
Short-timer U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder blasts Apple for protecting users’ privacy against government overreach – September 30, 2014
FBI blasts Apple for protective users’ privacy by locking government, police out of iPhones and iPads – September 25, 2014
Apple thinks different about privacy – September 23, 2014
Apple CEO Tim Cook ups privacy to new level, takes direct swipe at Google – September 18, 2014
Apple will no longer unlock most iPhones, iPads for government, police – even with search warrants – September 18, 2014
Would you trade privacy for national security? Most Americans wouldn’t – August 6, 2014
Apple begins encrypting iCloud email sent between providers – July 15, 2014
Obama administration demands master encryption keys from firms in order to conduct electronic surveillance against Internet users – July 24, 2013
U.S. NSA seeks to build quantum computer to crack most types of encryption – January 3, 2014
Apple’s iMessage encryption trips up U.S. feds’ surveillance – April 4, 2013