Google, Apple, Facebook face world-first encryption laws in Australia

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.cnet.com/news/australia-passes-encryption-assistance-access-laws-facebook-google-twitter-apple-amazon/

By Claire Reilly
CNet News
December 6, 2018

Australia passed new laws that allow law enforcement to access encrypted 
messages, legislation that leading tech companies, including Google, 
Facebook and Twitter, have all opposed.

The laws, which passed late on Thursday Australian time, were billed as 
essential for national security and a vital tool for law enforcement in 
the fight against terrorism.

The new laws come as tech companies and governments around the world 
debate the importance of encryption amid a changing national security 
landscape. Governments and law enforcement agencies across the US, Europe 
and other western nations argue terrorists and criminals are flocking to 
encrypted messaging services to escape detection. They say law enforcement 
needs access to these services -- and greater regulation of tech companies 
broadly -- to ensure public safety.

Tech companies and civil liberties advocates argue that weakening 
encryption for one device or one case has the potential to break it for 
everyone, opening a door to hackers and compromising the security that 
underpins our modern, digital world. For the tech world, encryption is a 
matter of simple mathematics (even if politicians disagree).

[...]



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