A California state lawmaker is working to damage encryption standards with the introduction of new legislation that would make it illegal for tech companies to sell devices with unbreakable encryption software in the state.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) has introduced a legislative proposal in his state which would essentially force tech companies like Apple and Google to provide ways for law enforcement to access users’ private communications data.
His effort serves as a reminder that attempts to erode privacy protections by state and local officials can be as biting as those carried out by statists on the national stage.
“Human traffickers are using encrypted cellphones to run and conceal their criminal activities,” Cooper said in a statement. “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, a former Sacramento County sheriff, is using his law enforcement background to push the idea that local communities must give up privacy in order to aid smaller law enforcement agencies in keeping criminals at bay.
But don’t be fooled by similar proposals that may come up in your locale.
Cooper’s state crusade against unbreakable encryption is nearly identical to attempts by top officials at the FBI and CIA to force Silicone Valley into providing law enforcement backdoor access to digital communications.
His bill is very similar to legislation introduced by New York Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-Staten Island) earlier this month.
The legislation shares common language with the California bill and, if passed, would mandate that “any smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2016 and sold or leased in New York, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.”
So far, digital privacy organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have been able to embolden the tech industry in its stand against the government’s demands for more snooping tools at the national level.
“If the government were to suggest that no one put locks on their doors because if we were a terrorist it would be harder to get into our house, we would think that was a bad idea,” Cindy Cohn, exective director of the EFF, recently told TechNewsWorld.
“This is pretty much the digital equivalent of that,” she added.
Unfortunately, it could become more difficult for organizations like Cohen’s to protect privacy rights as more legislation like Cooper’s appears in statehouses throughout the nation.
That means you need to begin taking steps now to protect yourself.
To learn more about protecting your personal online freedom and privacy, check out Bob Livingston’s “Ultimate Privacy Guide” for tips to protect your Internet activity from snoops and criminals working at behest of both government and private interests. If you haven’t already, get this free e-book by signing up for the Personal Liberty Digest® today!
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