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                      US Lawmakers Propose Smartphone Bill

   by VOA News

   Two U.S. senators are expected to introduce a bipartisan [1]bill that
   would impose penalties on technology companies that refuse a court
   order to unlock smartphones.

   The measure by California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and North
   Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr is being called "dangerous" by
   technology experts.

   Kevin Bankston, the director of the New America Foundation's Open
   Technology Institute, told Wired magazine that in his almost 20 years
   working in technology policy "this is easily the most ludicrous,
   dangerous, technically illiterate proposal I've ever seen."

   The White House has held off on taking a position while a draft of the
   measure undergoes revisions.

   The bill's sponsors say it is in response to increasing concerns that
   criminals are using encrypted services to avoid law enforcement.

   According to a draft of the bill, "...all persons receiving an
   authorized judicial order for information or data must provide, in a
   timely manner, responsive and intelligible information or data, or
   appropriate technical assistance to obtain such information or data."

   California and New York lawmakers are considering similar bills at a
   state level but no final action has been taken.

   In February, the FBI brought a legal case against Apple, Incorporated
   to force the iPhone maker to help federal officials break into one of
   its phones owned by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. The case, which
   raised privacy issues, was dropped before it was resolved in the
   courts, when investigators found a third party expert who cracked the
   phone's encryption code.

   Since then Facebook has strengthened encryption features on its popular
   instant messaging service WhatsApp.

   WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum said in a blog published Tuesday that every
   conversation on the messaging service has full end-to-end encryption
   protection, in a group or private chat. The encryption ensures the only
   person able to read the message is the intended recipient.

   "No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers.
   Not oppressive regimes. Not even us," Koum wrote.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-lawmakers-propose-smartphone-bill/
   3276623.html

References

   1. https://josephhall.org/f0eabaa89b8ee38577bf7d0fd50ddf0d58ecd27a/307378123-Burr-Encryption-Bill-Discussion-Draft.pdf
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-lawmakers-propose-smartphone-bill/3276623.html