Another US proposal would ban strong encryption products. Again,
critics say that such a ban would severely hamper e-commerce,
particularly financial services, without deterring criminals, who
would always find illegal encryption products or legal products
from other countries.
An anti-terrorism bill, backed by the Bush administration, would
require encryption products to include an extra key which could be
used by the FBI to decode any intercepted encrypted communications.
Some say this is analogous to every individual being required to
give a copy of their house key to the local police station. Another
argument is that any encryption product with a “back door” is
inherently less secure for legitimate business purposes.
Earlier proposals to ban strong encryption products were
withdrawn a few years ago in light of industry criticism. The
recent terrorist attacks have renewed the debate, although it is
unclear if those responsible for the attacks actually used
encryption to protect their electronic communications.
Another proposal following the attacks in the US is the
introduction of national ID cards, currently being discussed by the
governments of the US, the UK and Australia. A recent Mori poll of
513 UK adults showed majority support for ID cards including not
just a photograph and date of birth details, but also details of
eye colour, a finger print, DNA details, religion and criminal
records. Civil liberties groups have voiced opposition, saying that
ID cards unreasonably increase police power and information sharing
among government agencies. National ID cards already exist in
France, Spain, Italy and Greece.
Some commentators also expect UK law enforcement agencies to
seek greater powers in the wake of the US attacks.
At present, the UK’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
contains provisions which allow the police and other agencies to
demand decryption keys from the senders or recipients of encrypted
e-mails in certain circumstances. The powers are contained in a
part of the Act which is expected to come into force later this
year. Before the Act existed, the Government was forced by industry
opposition to withdraw a proposal to require that copies of all
encryption keys used in the UK be stored with a third party.
A section-by-section
analysis of the proposed US Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001
The Electronic Privacy Information Center has prepared a
critique
of the proposed law
