Internet Firms Warn UK Against 'Dangerous' Changes to Encryption Law
Jan 7, 1:27 PM EST
INTERNET FIRMS WARN UK AGAINST 'DANGEROUS' CHANGES TO LAW
LONDON (AP) -- Major U.S. Internet companies have urged
the British government to reconsider a plan to make telecommunications firms
help spies hack into computers and phones.
The draft Investigatory Powers Bill would require
telecoms companies to keep records of customers' Web histories for up to a
year, and to help security services gain access to suspects' electronic
devices.
In a joint submission to a committee of British
lawmakers, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo said that "to
the extent this could involve the introduction of risks or vulnerabilities into
products or services, it would be a very dangerous precedent to set."
They urged the government to reconsider, and warned
against changes that would weaken online encryption, which they called a
"fundamental security tool."
The submission was made last month and published Thursday
by the committee, which is reviewing the proposed legislation.
Apple has also objected to the British proposals, saying
they could weaken online security by providing a backdoor to users' data for
"bad guys" as well as "good guys."
The British government insists the bill won't weaken or
ban online encryption.
If approved by Parliament, the bill will let police and
spies access Internet connection records - a list of websites, apps and
messaging services someone has visited, though not the individual pages they
looked at or the messages they sent.
Civil liberties groups have also expressed alarm at the
bill. A previous version of the legislation was thrown out by lawmakers in 2013
as overly intrusive.
The government says it will set out final proposals in
the spring.
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment