A new bill proposed in New York could see that all phone manufacturers be required to implement a way for law enforcement agencies to access and decrypt user devices. This bill is somewhat similar to the Investigatory Powers Bill currently being debated in the UK, which Apple has voiced its opposition towards. Apple and Tim Cook have repeatedly stated that government agencies should not have any access to user devices or data, whether be through a built-in backdoor or other means.
The bill making its way through the New York state assembly specifically states that “any smartphone 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.” Should a phone manufacturer neglect to implement such a tool, the assembly would impose a $2,500 fine for each infringing device (via On The Wire).
While this bill theoretically doesn’t give government agencies direct access encrypted data, Apple implementing such a measure would force it to compromise its stance that there should not be a sacrifice in privacy for national security. In the past, Tim Cook has stated that any decrease in encryption, which this bill would require, would lead to unintended people gaining access to user data.
The Investigatory Powers Bill in the UK is similar and has the support of UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Like the New York bill, the Investigatory Powers Act would also mean that Apple would have to stop encrypting iPhones, iMessage, and FaceTime and hold a key with direct access to user data, again creating a backdoor.
Just last week, Tim Cook and other Silicon Valley executives met with White House officials to discuss the use of social media and technology in the fight against terrorism, radicalization, and propaganda. During the meeting, Cook again voiced his stance that there should be in no way, shape, or form, a backdoor to user data. The Apple CEO urged that it is up to the White House to make that ruling and enforce a “no backdoor” policy.
In the past, Apple has said that it has no way to access data on devices that are passcode protected by the user. In response to that, the Department of Justice came out and said that Apple should be required to unlock any encrypted data because iOS is “licensed, not sold” to customers.
The next step for the New York state bill would be a move to the floor calendar, followed by votes in the assembly and senate. Part of the bill reads as follows:
“The safety of the citizenry calls for a legislative solution, and a solution is easily at hand. Enacting this bill would penalize those who would sell smart- phones that are beyond the reach of law enforcement.
The fact is that, although the new software may enhance privacy for some users, it severely hampers law enforcement’s ability to aid victims. All of the evidence contained in smartphones and similar devices will be lost to law enforcement, so long as the criminals take the precaution of protecting their devices with passcodes. Of course they will do so. Simply stated, passcode-protected devices render lawful court orders meaningless and encourage criminals to act with impunity.”
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What’s the REAL motive behind all of these government agencies trying to get access to our smart phones and other encrypted technologies. Surely it can’t really be about fighting against terrorism.
Follow the money trail… it always leads back to the government.
Blackmail. It’s common knowledge.
They would have to re-engineer the software to allow a back door, which will take months and many millions of dollars. I don’t know, maybe a hardware charge would be required and even if Apple does all that, the bad guys just need to not update their devices to the new software.
Exactly. Or they switch to an android phone not sold in NY.
Or Apple makes an iPhone “backdoor edition”, that nobody would want. And people would buy online instead, from some other state.
And it would not even work.
Can they outlaw 3rd party apps that use encryption?
Outlaw development tools to make these apps?
They would have to outlaw math.
They already did. Common Core.
If NY passes this law, I would like to see Apple call their bluff. This is ridiculous. Fear mongering and nothing more.
If anyone could, surely it’s Apple?
I’d love to see Apple stop selling iPhones in NY and the UK to make their point clear.
Privacy > $$$
People would $hit their pants.
While I’d love to see this too there’d be so many people out there that don’t understand what Apple would be trying to prove or the ramifications from the backdoor access. All they would know/see, probably reported incorrectly in the news, is that Apple is no longer selling their devices in NY or the UK and they would freak the f*ck out.
I’m sure you’re right.
This burns me up. Because these laws will reduce the security of our devices, and cause the Internet economy to begin to unravel
Once there is a “Secret Backdoor” all the bad guys will be able to access it … Real bad guys, disgruntled police, FBI, government employees, and just greedy people in law enforcement who want to make some cash selling access to the “Secret Backdoor”. I’m heartily discouraged that our cro magnons in the Federal and State congresses are so out of touch with technology and security that they can’t see how vulnerable a backdoor is.
The solution is simple. Apple can stop selling iPhones in New York, and watch how fast New York’s constituents throw out the politicians responsible for passing such unconstitutional rubbish.
Security vs privacy is a slippery slope. In a perfect world, allowing your trusted government to get court subpoenas for decrypted access would be beneficial to our safety. The unfortunate situation is that we no longer trust our government. The recent abuses of power have led the American public to want everything private, no matter what. But law enforcement and national defense agencies have a job to do. The advances in technology inhibit these agencies. So, which is more important, secrecy or safety?
But sacrificing our privacy doesn’t make us safer.
If you do not have your privacy, you are not truly free.
You can sit safely in a cage if you’d like, I will not.
What bullshit! We are spending BILLIONS of dollars on security, spying, etc. They should just do their jobs with the resources they have. Period! So if the terrorists star communicating with hand written notes with encrypted messages, are we going to then ban pen and paper? This is just a total bullshit argument.
What’s that…is it rain? No,.. just buckets of pig tears.
I feel like this has nothing to do with terrorism. What has Apple been dragged into the Senate for? taxes. The government wants the billions of dollars Apple will have to pay if they bring the money back to the US. They can’t force Apple to do it so instead they will try to impact their business. If this law goes into effect it will not affect terrorists. Does anyone think that smartphones are the only devices a terrorist can use? They will just simply stop using phones and find a more secure device. Who this affects is the everyday customer who will stop using the smartphone which will have a huge negative impact on the companies. Just look at what earns the most profits for Apple, the iPhone.
All a terrorist has to do out in clear text is send “Sat 3PM” and that’s it. No encryption needed, and that’s pretty meaningless. How would spying on every single person do anything about this terror plot to attack Saturday at 3PM? You can do this stuff right out in the open and there’s no way to stop it, encrypted or not. It’s meaningless garbage. “It’s a Go!” That can be a million things. How is making everyone not safe going to do anything?
Well, actually…. Apple does have the ability to un-brick a specific phone. That is done thru Apple. And technically you can decrypt an iPhone, it just takes brute force and a super computer. So…. technically. LOL
Actually, it might be easier just to make it against the law for anyone to break the law or even seem to break the law. that way, you could throw people in jail, in case they were breaking the law and have no need for a trial. Who needs due process, who needs the constitution to be followed. After all, most politicians are crooks and we let them lead. Maybe we need them to use phones that have NO security…. cause we know they are guilty of something. LOL
If this law comes into play then Apple will either pull their devices from sale or pay the fine, I hope they pull devices from sale and let the people of New York give the government something to worry about with all the backlash it will cause.
Paying $2,500 fines for selling 800$ phones does not exactly sound logical. Unless they are really desperate to burn through their cash reserves.
iPhone 6S 16GB, NY edition: $3149
LMAO
Another reason why NY is #3 in the Top 5 states people are moving out of. If you listened to Emperor Andrew’s 90min State of the State today, such folly is clearly understandable.
Why not just do something similar Canada – make people have to unlock their phones for viewing IF suspected of criminal activity…
I don’t think phones should have a back door, just because a few out of the millions do illegal activities.
Plus, what if youre a foreign traveller and your country doesnt require ‘back door’ access? Or what if youre from a state that hasnt past any laws on ‘backdoors’??? – Will you still be allowed into New York? Would companies still be fined?
People have rights to privacy.
I just wish more companies would get on board with Apple.
That’s why they can’t and won’t give in at all, it’s a slippery slope.
Apple would win a Supreme Court lawsuit on this.
Blackberry is doomed
Why they’ve had back door access since day 1
They’ve given out that backdoor access to a number of countries. BlackBerry as a OS is gone! As soon as BlackBerry released the PRIV a Android phone with more in the future, they’ve pretty much annouced they’ve given up on Blackberry the OS. If Apple released a Android phone, would you have anymore faith in Apple after that? As crappy as Windows Phone is doing, what do you think would happen if Microsoft released a Android phone? How BlackBerry thinks Android will save them and giving up all control really to Google, Helps???
Ummm…Nokia, which is owned by Microsoft, has actually released phones which run android…
Simple: Why do we need an encryption?
Because some people don’t like having private information(bank accounts, personal/business emails, passwords) out in the open for anybody to access. Simply, if there’s a known backdoor for the “good” guys, there absolutely will be people with malicious intent looking to exploit the backdoor.
Sarcasm intended
“Should a phone manufacturer neglect to implement such a tool, the assembly would impose a $2,500 fine for each infringing device”
Apple is basically screwed. The government/states will keep up the pressure until they give in one way or another. Apple has a big red target on their heads and it’s not from Android. Time for Apple to call in the lawyers.
I think apple should buy the state of new York
I got an idea. Sell the phone with special software in the state of new york that grants backdoor access, then issue urgent security patches to all devices as soon as they are activated. Boom problem solved. lol
Apple can’t just simply create Backdoor access in the encryption. It’s not that simple. Instead, Apple can just sell a special version of the iPhone in NY with ZERO encryption. You can only use iMessage with other NY users with zero encryption phones. Apple Pay is Disabled, etc. You can lock your phone but the storage is not encrypted and you can just plug into a computer and read it all.
See how well that goes over in NY! I don’t see how a State can write such a dumb law that effects a global product. Once you open this door, you think other countries wouldn’t want the same access now? Hell some countries would no longer trust the iPhone as the U.S. Government could just spy on anything they wanted, which would be Everything!!!! They don’t need a warrant for Non-US Citizens so they can go global crazy spying on every single device!!!
Here is the problem that NY is facing and that Apple has on their side. SCOTUS has ruled in Riley v. California that people have a right to privacy on their mobile devices. Basically the 4th and 5th amendments cannot be violated just because it is an electronic mobile device. Therefore the state and/or federal law enforcement cannot have a master key. They must obtain a court order and the person must unlock the device. This issue is squarely is on Apple’s side.
Come on New York… I thought you were liberal and beyond this fascist B.S.
HAHAHA! Hilarious.
My hope, if the bills goes through, that Apple’s response is “Sorry, people of New York, but we can no kind sell or lease our phones in your state.”
Typo: *we can no longer sell…
Easy solution. If I was Apple, I’d take the fine and surcharge owners in New York.
$2,500 + Apple’s 30%, $3,751 surcharge, that’d be a good excuse to fly or drive over the state line to get a new phone… ;-p
New York you are smoking crack.
If this thing passes, Apple should stop selling iPhones in New York. Let the people of New York get pissed off that they can’t buy iPhones anymore, and that will end this stupid law right then and there.
This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but with…
I’m sure Tim Cook will get right on that. 😣
That’s insane. Apple should just make an iPhone idiot edition and sell it only in that state.
There is no privacy anyway, Apple, Google, Facebook. Microsoft, NSA etc already know every little detail of people life’s.
Whether this bill is passed or not this won’t make any difference.
With all due respect, you are truly clueless when it comes to Apple.
At this point, I wonder if Apple is just going through all this hoopla to make it seem like there is not backdoor, when they will create or have one and not just make it known (then we will find out an be pissed like Snowden).
Tim Cook for President 2016. Write it in.
I can see where this is going. Next will be icloud accounts because all most every iphone get backed up to the icloud or even worst, icloud storage sites. The gov’t is always trying to get people information on file so they can track people at will. Remember J. Edgar Hoover collecting information on people, even Presidents to hold power over them.
I say call their bluff. Close their flagship stores in Manhattan and all other boroughs. Refuse to sell devices in NY state. That will hurt NY states bottom line very quickly.
The thing is that a law like this would only catch the stupid criminals. These laws always treat encryption like some big, mysterious thing that’s exclusively under the control of the device manufacturers. As any of us who have ever taken an introductory computer science theory course at the university level are very aware, nothing could be further from the truth: the mathematical theory and algorithms for writing secure encryption are really pretty simple, and are widely and well known. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem), for example. So if laws like this are passed, it’d be a simple matter for someone else–especially someone beyond the jurisdiction of these laws–to create secure messaging and storage apps that don’t have a back door.
This is yet another example of how the lack of technical knowledge amongst our lawmakers is a big problem.
So if someone is filming child porn with there iPhone law enforcement should not be able to access there phone?
If someone was filming child porn with their iPhone, the Police would first have other evidence, then could present that to a Judge and get a warrant to search the phone. That way, the evidence is admissible. This isn’t a TV cop show.
Yes they will have other evidence to get a warrant. But if the phone is encrypted, with the only way to release the encryption being the user, because there is no back door what good does a warrant do?
Always have to love that argument. Please won’t someone think of the children!! Between that and terrorism and everyone should just fear all electronics.
No just use common sense and have a balance between privacy and security.
Yes, there is a balance. My privacy is not trumped by your need for imaginary security. Voila! Perfect balance.
You don’t quite get it do you,? If there is a back door then anyone can walk through it. I don’t want criminals and terrorists to have access to all my data.
In unrelated news, Apple plans on opening 30 new Apple Stores in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
But seriously – Criminals could do far more theft, damage, and harm when they figure out how to access the NY Backdoor. Think of how things worked out for the people that were affected by the security hole in that was in iCloud.
The solution is simple, but in a different way than people think. If this rule came to pass, Apple and other manufacturers would just stop selling devices in New York. The loss in tax revenue alone would bankrupt the city within a few months as people just ordered online from out of state.
Not having revenue from phone sales would not even come close to bankrupting New York.
Apple has now been advised about the real difficulties their policy is causing and have had plenty of time to respond.
I think it is now time to see them as deliberately obstructing law enforcement for profit.
Responsible corporations set up their products/services to provide security for their customers but also to allow lawful disclosure/access with good cause or warrant. Only irresponsible corporations deliberately set up their products/services to obstruct law enforcement.
I would be in favour of not just fines. I would also favour a law which makes the greedy tech corporations liable for any harm caused using, or facilitated by, their devices/services. If a greedy corporation’s products/services are used to commit crime, and law enforcement has been deliberately obstructed, then let the victims and/or relatives of dead victims sue the corporation for damages.
Well said, it’s all about balance.
There is nothing stopping any government agency from getting a warrant and giving it to you to make you unlock your phone!!! Putting some back door into encription as proven time after time is abused by Government, and easy enough for criminals to gain access and screw over millions of people!!! For what? To lazy to actually do their jobs?
How would you like if if the Government just decided to go into your house? Door is Unlocked, why not go in and check your house out, dig around and see if you’re doing anything wrong. Maybe take a few things. That’s really no different. So you’re all for that also right? What do you have to hide?
Ok, so if you were committing a crime and there was evidence on your phone that could put you in prison for life, you would unlock your phone for law enforcement, because they gave you a warrant. I think not.
But the government DOES go into homes to install surveillance devices without notifying the (criminal?) owners. But they need a court order to allow it. That is where the trust comes in. Do we trust our government to follow the law ? Not so much these days.
Exactly: too lazy to get a warrant. It’s called the constitution. Stupid gub’ment.
What absolute nonsense! This is a federally regulated product, not a state regulated device. NY, stuff it!
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and (my emphasis) EFFECTS…..”
Once again we have some lowlife, constitution shredding Mental Amoeba’s trying to shred the 4th Amendment.
Who the hell does the government think they are – they steal our money outright 0 why give them the power to ease-drop on our private conversations!!! Throw all the sob’s out and lets get new blood instead of the money hungry slobs we have!!!!
HA! They themselves will not be able to achieve that legally. It will definitely have to be accomplished via a federal requirement, if ever, LOL. They think that we are so stupid. They clearly already have vast resources outside of our phones to make a case. It would just be “easier” if they were “allowed” to access our phones. What did they ever do before we even had phones? LOL.
So now Apple is being threatened by the very Facials they helped get into office. We warned you but you let ideology over reason direct your allegiances.
Good thing apple is going into Health! Allowing a back door will violate HIPPA… :)
i live in NY and i would drive to jersey or CT to get a non backdoor iphone
The problem with any solution to given access to law enforcement is more than just how it will affect the citizens of the USA. The government is known to collect data on people all over the world with NO warrant. This would mean they can collect data on the worlds citizens and play god to whoever they like. Now imagine that someone like me, who is not bothered either way, lives in a country that says the phone MUST be encrypted. The cost to Apple is huge, and they would have to develop 2 different systems to allow for different users according to where they are. This throws up more issues, as so many people are aware of VPN so you spoof where you are and get the secure software anyway…!
The long and short of it, is if someone is accused of a crime, and the phone needs to be accessed, then get a warrant by all means, then arrest them. If they fail to unlock the phone for the authorities, then they would be in breach of a lawful court order and could be locked up anyway, at least until the password was handed over…! Mandatory sentencing for refusing of a long period would help “persuade” people to comply.
Apple ve to simply stop selling in NY should this pass. It is the only solution available to them…!!!