In April of 2016, an anti-encryption law was put forward by US government officials, forcing encryption protocols to contain backdoors. A petition was started to get consumers and enterprises to vote against these proposals, and 70% of the petition’s goal has been reached so far.
More Outspoken Opinions Against Encryption Backdoors
It is positive to see more people care about encryption and privacy these days, even though it took a very invasive US government proposals to open people’s eyes. Said proposal would make end-to-end encryption illegal, and force companies and software providers to build a backdoor into their solutions for the government to access at will.
A lot of people have signed an online petition against this proposal, although there are still close to 30,000 signatures needed to get the number of required signatures. Consumers and enterprises need to start taking encryption more seriously and value the technology for what it allows us to achieve regarding secure communication.
Making end-to-end encryption is not the only objective of this proposal, though, as it would also directly undermine American’s privacy. Weakened encryption standards will attract even more criminals trying to breach the security protocols in place, and may lead to even more data breaches in the future. This should be avoided at all costs.
Moreover, it would also make American companies less competitive in the market. If the world knows US software and hardware solutions contain backdoors for the government, consumers and enterprises will take their business elsewhere. However, they won’t take it to Japan, as the government is tracking GPS coordinates around the clock there already.
Last but not least, this proposal would lead to more censorship in the long run. If the government has backdoor access to all information, it is impossible to determine the validity of data in the future. Under the moniker of fighting terrorism, these new guidelines may make sense for government officials, but consumers and enterprises should make their voice be heard against this proposal and sign the petition.
Source: The Register UK
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