California Legislator Says Encryption 'Threatens Our Freedoms' Calls For Ban On Encrypted Cell Phones

from the something-about-defecating-vis-a-vis-eating-location dept

If all goes according to these legislators' plans, Flyover Country will have something the coasts don't: encrypted cell phones. Because there's always room for one more bad idea, California assemblyman Jim Cooper is following up New York assemblyman Matthew Titone's call for a ban on encrypted phones with one of his own.

California assembly member Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) introduced the legislation, bill 1681, that would require any smartphone manufactured "on or after January 1, 2017, and sold in California after that date" to be "capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider."

Any smartphone that couldn't be decrypted on demand would subject a seller to a $2,500 fine.

Cooper is either fearless or stupid, given that he's dropping this legislation bomb deep in the heart of Tech Country. Odds are on the latter, though, as he's tying his proposal to his crusade against human trafficking -- something that generally means nothing more than increased persecution of sex workers with very little to show in terms of results. Preying on ignorance and fear never lost anyone any votes.

At a press conference today, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), along with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office, crime victim’s families, and bill supporters, announced the introduction of AB 1681. The bill will allow law enforcement to investigate and prosecute suspected criminals and criminal organizations that are involved in human trafficking and other serious crimes.

[...]

“Human traffickers are using encrypted cell phones to run and conceal their criminal activities,” said Assemblymember Cooper. “Full-disk encrypted operating systems provide criminals an invaluable tool to prey on women, children, and threaten our freedoms while making the legal process of judicial court orders, useless,” Cooper added.

You hear that, citizens? Encryption "threatens our freedoms," which is a really weird way to rephrase limiting cell phone buyers' choices and forcing them to select less secure options.

Of course, a prominent member of local law enforcement was on hand to offer support for the encrypted phone ban.

“I support an anti-encryption policy that will restore the ability to access cellphone data by a court ordered search warrant. If smartphones are beyond the reach of law enforcement, crimes will go unsolved, criminals will not be held accountable, victims will not receive justice and our ability to protect our children and community will be significantly compromised,” said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.

Yes, this heartwarming concern for "victims receiving justice" and "unsolved crimes" is the same heartwarming concern that led to a backlog of more than 1,500 rape kits in her jurisdiction, some dating back more than a decade -- a backlog that only began to be cleared thanks to activism and legislation.

Cooper's proposed legislation is basically a word-for-word copy of Titone's.

A smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, and sold or leased in California, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.

Customers will still be able to implement their own encryption to lock the government out of their phones and, of course, anyone can buy or lease an encrypted phone from an out-of-state retailer and use it in California without fear of reprisal.

Unlike Titone, who appears to be slipping this bill into each legislative session with as little noise as possible, Assemblyman Cooper as least has the courage of his convictions to not only craft this terrible legislation, but also announce its arrival with a press conference. Considering his bill is both anti-consumer and anti-constituent, that's a pretty bold move. If you're going to attack your voter base, the least you can do is be transparent about it.

Filed Under: california, encryption, going dark, jim cooper, matthew titone, mobile phones
Companies: apple

NY State Legislator Proposes Ban On Sale Of Encrypted Smartphones

from the never-too-late-to-give-a-bad-idea-another-shot dept

It appears someone's listening to local crackpot New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance's demands that encryption be outlawed to make law enforcement easier. His "white paper" didn't have the guts to make this demand, instead couching it in language stating he would be completely unopposed to a legislative ban on encryption, but that he wasn't going to be the bad guy asking for it.

A month later, as the mockery of his encryption white paper died down, Vance decided he would be the bad guy and openly stated that if Apple wasn't going to give him what he wanted, it could be forced to do so by the government. Lo and behold, New York Senator Assemblyman Matthew Titone has answered Vance's call for action. In what is likely the nation's first proposed ban on encryption, Titone's introduced bill forbids the sale of smartphones that can't be cracked by their manufacturers. (h/t Nate Cardozo)

ANY SMARTPHONE THAT IS MANUFACTURED ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN, AND SOLD OR LEASED IN NEW YORK, SHALL BE CAPABLE OF BEING DECRYPTED AND UNLOCKED BY ITS MANUFACTURER OR ITS OPERATING SYSTEM PROVIDER.

THE SALE OR LEASE IN NEW YORK OF A SMARTPHONE MANUFACTURED ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN THAT IS NOT CAPABLE OF BEING DECRYPTED AND UNLOCKED BY ITS MANUFACTURER OR ITS OPERATING SYSTEM PROVIDER SHALL SUBJECT THE SELLER OR LESSOR TO A CIVIL PENALTY OF TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH SMARTPHONE SOLD OR LEASED IF IT IS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE SELLER OR LESSOR OF THE SMARTPHONE KNEW AT THE TIME OF THE SALE OR LEASE THAT THE SMARTPHONE WAS NOT CAPABLE OF BEING DECRYPTED AND UNLOCKED BY ITS MANUFACTURER OR ITS OPERATING SYSTEM PROVIDER.

This isn't Titone's first attempt at this legislation, something that can be gleaned by the fact that the proposed legislation still contains wording suggesting January 1, 2016 is still somewhere off in the future. This bill made its debut last year, roughly nine months after Apple announced its plan to offer encryption by default.

The proposed legislation was introduced in the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection [wft?] on June 8th, 2015. Nothing happened then, but a new legislative session is upon us and Titone re-submitted his bill to the same committee last week.

There has been no fanfare accompanying this twice-submitted legislation, most likely due to it potentially toxic side effects. Even Titone's own Senate page -- where press releases seem to accompany all of his other sponsored bills -- has nothing to say about this one. Still, the bill has attracted two co-sponsors: Walter Mosley and Patricia Fahy.

Interestingly, or perhaps more accurately, infuriatingly, the bill would hold retailers responsible for manufacturers' actions. Apple Stores would apparently be unable to sell any smartphones and every service provider would have to eliminate any phones with default encryption from their lineups.

The wording isn't a ban on encryption, per se. But it does make the sale of encrypted phones illegal -- pretty much accomplishing the same thing without having to require backdoors or forbid manufacturers from offering default encryption in the other 49 states. That latter part is the loophole New York can't close, even if this stupid piece of legislation passes.

New York's sky-high tobacco taxes have turned New York City into a massive secondary market for cigarette cartons that fell off a truck/were purchased across state lines. This would basically do the same thing for smartphones, creating a market for phones purchased in other states but deployed in New York. The bill doesn't even attempt to address this loophole, laying pretty much all of the culpability at the feet of local resellers. Purchasers aren't forbidden from deploying their own encryption and secondhand phones containing built-in encryption can be bought and sold without fear of repercussion.

In all likelihood, Titone's bill will die another death on the cold hard assembly floor. The bill is bad in multiple ways, but not in any of the ways immediately appealing to undecided politicians. The spiel accompanying the bill attempts to press all of the right buttons ("There is no reason criminals should also benefit, and they will, as people will be defrauded or threatened, and terrorists will use these encrypted devices to plot their next attack over FaceTime..."), but informing the nation's largest phone manufacturers that their products can't be sold in New York isn't exactly the sort of message many legislators are willing to send

Filed Under: cyrus vance, encryption, going dark, matthew titone, mobile encryption, ny, patricia fahey, walter mosley
Companies: apple