Slashdot Mirror
NY Bill Would Force Decryption of Smartphones On Demand (onthewire.io)
Trailrunner7 sends word about New York Assemblyman Matthew Titone's bill that forbids the sale of smartphones that can't be cracked by their manufacturers. On the Wire reports: "A bill that is making its way through the New York state assembly would require that smartphone manufacturers build mechanisms into the devices that would allow the companies to decrypt or unlock them on demand from law enforcement. The New York bill is the latest entry in a long-running debate between privacy advocates and security experts on one side and law enforcement agencies and many politicians on the other. The revelations of the last few years about widespread government surveillance, especially that involving cell phones and email systems, has spurred device manufacturers to increase the use of encryption. New Apple iPhones now are encrypted by default, as are some Android devices. Apple, Google, and the other major manufacturers have said that user privacy and security is their main concern. The bill that is now in committee in the New York State Assembly makes no equivocation about what it is designed to do. '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 bill says."
It would be very entertaining (and even mildly interesting) to watch this from afar as politicians backpedal after public outcry that they can no longer buy smart phones in their state.
Even if this does become law in New York, I really hope that manufacturers don't cave to the pressure. After all, while large, NY is probably only a tiny fraction of overall sales.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Apple can continue to offer iPads and Macs in the stores, along with a large explanatory sign where the iPhones would normally be. In the meantime, New York residents will have to get their iPhones somewhere else, and most will. I don't think Apple will be as hurt by this as the residents.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
exactly, ill just get my phone in PA, areacodes are fairly useless these days anyway
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
You seem to be missing the point where they don't care, and aren't there to protect phones being "secure".
They don't give a crap about your security. Not even a little.
And, of course, since some animals are more equal than others, they'll insist it's OK if they have things which can't be decrypted ...or at the very least will moronically make it a crime for people other than them to exploit this now useless encryption.
Do not make the mistake of thinking this is about anything other than a government who wants to exert control which defies both logic and technology ... logic isn't a factor here. Fear, paranoia, and a desire to control the world around them is what drives this.
If they can't spy on everything you do, they will try to fix that with badly written laws.
Papers please, comrade. Failure to comply is not one of your options in the new America.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Just dont sell any phones in ny anymore.