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French Conservatives Push Law To Ban Strong Encryption (dailydot.com)
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."
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.
Please note that the conservatives don't have a majority in the Assemblée Nationale, so this law will likely not pass, at least under its current form. But it's also true that PS hasn't been the strongest defender of privacy and personal freedom, they did a few nasty things in the wake of the terror attacks of last year, so who knows exactly what will happen...
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.
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.
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.
..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!
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
The point is moot because the French president obtained special powers after the attack in Paris until February to enact pretty much any anti-terrorism legislation.
No he didn't.
The state of emergency allows a certain number of police actions to be done on order of a "prefet" (an administrator) rather than a judge:
1. Banning of public gatherings.
2. Search warrants.
3. House arrest.
It lasts 3 months (so its nearly over).
Thats it. Nothing more, no power to pass legislation.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
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.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Why is it that "conservatives" in so many countries have completely lost their minds?