France Rejects Backdoor Mandate
In a moment of clarity after initially moving forward a deeply flawed piece of legislation, the French National Assembly has done the right thing: it rejected a dangerous proposal that would have gutted end-to-end encryption in the name of fighting drug trafficking. Despite heavy pressure from the Interior Ministry, lawmakers voted Thursday night (article in French) to strike down a provision that would have forced messaging platforms like Signal and WhatsApp to allow hidden access to private conversations.
Via Irreal:
One of my favorite stories is the probably apocryphal story of some legislature trying to legislate the value of pi. The same mindset is in play with legislators who believe that they can simply will a secure backdoor into existence. The fact that experts everywhere say, “No you can’t.” makes no impression.
Alexander Martin (via Nick Heer):
The European Commission announced on Tuesday its intention to join the ongoing debate about lawful access to data and end-to-end encryption while unveiling a new internal security strategy aimed to address ongoing threats.
[…]
The aim is to “identify and assess technological solutions that would enable law enforcement authorities to access encrypted data in a lawful manner, safeguarding cybersecurity and fundamental rights,” said the Commission.
Previously:
- UK Orders Apple to Break iCloud Advanced Data Protection
- Proposed EU Chat Control
- UK Proposal to Weaken Messaging Security
