Encryption

You could soon spend 10 years in Australian jail if you don’t hand over your phone password to cops

New Australian bill introduces some of the toughest legislation anywhere in the world for refusing to hand over personal data, while other Western countries are scrambling for their own solutions.

Existing legislation already allows for imprisonment for up to two years for failing to give investigators access when serious crime is involved, but the new Assistance and Access bill, which has gone out for public consultation, before being voted on later on this year, raises the punishment to 10 years.

The Department of Home Affairs says the document is seeking a “reasonable and proportionate response” to such violations.

“Encryption and other forms of electronic protection… are being employed by terrorists, child sex offenders and criminal organisations to mask illegal conduct. The exploitation of modern communications technology for illicit ends is a significant obstacle to the lawful access of communications by Australia’s law enforcement and national security agencies,” says its intro.

To give weight to its proposal, the ministry gives an example of a pedophile rapist, who was using mobile messengers to offer drugs to underage teens in exchange for sex.