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French Conservatives Push Law To Ban Strong Encryption (dailydot.com)

Posted by timothy on from the top-down-control dept.

Patrick O'Neill writes: The French parliament this week will examine a bill that would require tech manufacturers of computers, phones, and tablets to build backdoors into any encryption on the device. The anti-encryption bill is being presented by 18 conservative members of the National Assembly as part of a large "Digital Republic" bill. According to the article, The new French bill briefly praises encryption’s role in protecting user data but immediately pivots to criticizing the effects of strong encryption on state security forces. "France must take the initiative and force device manufacturers to take into consideration the imperative of access for law enforcement officers, under the control of a judge and only in the case of an investigation, to those devices," the legislation reads, according to a translation by Khalil Sehnaoui, a Middle-East security specialist and founder of Krypton Security. "The goal is to avoid that individual encryption systems delay the advancement of an investigation."

11 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Security is only as strong as its weakest door by Elfich47 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It doesn't matter if the wall you build is thirty feet high and six men can walk abreast if you can kick in a door. The weakest part of a wall is always the gates and these kinds of bills are trying to require extra doors with standardized locks are used. No way this can be abused.

    --
    Architectural plans are like computer source code with a couple of differences: You only compile once.
    1. Re:Security is only as strong as its weakest door by Racemaniac · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I was thinking: sounds like a fair law, if then the state/police is fully responsible if their backdoor becomes public, and can be abused by others :). But then i think they'd not risk it, because they know the won't be able to keep their backdoor secret, and don't want to face the consequences :).

  2. Funny, phoney war on encryption by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know who else don't like strong encryption? The terrorists.

    You have to admit that the terrorists have already won. They've pwn your asses so completely that you're stabbing your own liberty like crazy.

  3. They know not what they do by stinerman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The new French bill briefly praises encryption’s role in protecting user data but immediately pivots to criticizing the effects of strong encryption on state security forces.

    While water is great at quenching thirst, it also can kill a person if drawn into their lungs. Therefore, we demand that bottled water manufacturers make their water such that it can no longer drown someone.

  4. Dear France: by seven+of+five · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, please be the guinea pig and backdoor your encryption. Then when your banking system collapses because some idiot leaked the keys, maybe it'll light a lightbulb in governments elsewhere.

    1. Re:Dear France: by GlennC · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, please be the guinea pig and backdoor your encryption. Then when your banking system collapses because some idiot leaked the keys, maybe it'll light a lightbulb in governments elsewhere.

      I'm afraid that you're giving other governments too much credit.

      They'd look at France's failure as one of implementation, not of concept.

      --
      Go on, citizen, stamp the vote card. R or D, your choice.
  5. Re:Will likely not pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Then the French government outlaws the use of OpenBSD and the like. If during an investigation they find the offending software on your machines, you get an automated 10 years sentence. You can avoid this by revealing the encryption keys, with cumulative 5 years sentences for every key and every time you refuse. Is Theo de Raadt living anywhere in the EU? Then he can be arrested and brought to France to stand trial for aiding and abetting terrorists. You cannot solve a political issue through technology because the overwhelming power of the State wins every time.

  6. When you make strong encrytion criminal.. by kheldan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ..then only criminals will have strong encryption. Why can't idiot politicians see this!? Legislation like this will do ABSOULUTELY NOTHING to prevent terrorism, it will only curb freedom of speech and the real security of honest, law-abiding, non-terrorist citizens!

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    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  7. Genesis by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are people still alive in France who remember European governments that would have used this to spy on political opponents, and track and kill them. One still exists, reborn from a brief democratic interlude.

    One should look in the long term and deny government certain powers out of principle. We have lots of evidence of historical democracies disappearing because they needed to have emergency powers (Rome, Greece, 1930s Germany) and zero evidence for long-term survival of them.

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    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  8. Re: That is Le Pew by N1AK · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Grandparent falsely claims the French President has been given powers due to a terrorist attack and is modded +4 informative.

    Parent explains how that is not the case, with sufficient information for anyone to check it and is left at +1.

    User moderation at its finest :( it's only informative if it's what you want to hear...

  9. Re: That is Le Pew by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And some buthurt moderator mods N1AK offtopic for pointing that out.

    --
    Watch this Heartland Institute video