In a move that seems more like a kneejerk reaction, the French government is currently considering a legislative provision that would make strong encryption illegal.
This anti-encryption provision bill that covers would force tech companies to configure their systems so that police and intelligence agencies could have access to their data whenever they require it. The provision is largely seen as a response to the Paris terrorist attacks that happened during 2015.
While the move may seem to have some merit, keep in mind that the terrorists that were responsible for the Paris attacks communicated through unencrypted text messages and phone calls.
Ever since the attacks in Paris, the French government has been criticised by its citizens due to the two month state of emergency period that was declared by President François Hollande, which has led to raids and hate crimes against the country’s Muslim population.
Technologist and open-Internet advocates has decried the French government’s attempts to impose limitations on encryption, stating that a strong encryption which even tech companies themselves cannot break is a crucial part of online privacy and security.
This encryption, which is part of the “Digital Republic” bill introduced by eighteen politicans from France’s conservative Republican Party, will be examined and debated this week alongside 400 other amendments that include net neutrality and online publication of scientific research.
Source : The Daily Dot