Australia proposes law for police to access encrypted private data from tech companies

By Legal Crunch

August 21, 2018Edited by Admin

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A new law was proposed recently by Australia, which will require tech companies like Google, Facebook and Apple to provide police with access to private encrypted data linked to suspected illegal activities.

Once this bill becomes a law, police, equipped with court orders, can access encrypted data from any online platform which the Australian government believes could be used for criminal activities or to plan a terror attack.

Companies can be fined up to A$10 million or USD$7.3 million for non-compliance of the court warrant which also includes imprisonment for individuals. 

In speaking with Reuters, Angus Taylor, the minister for law enforcement and cybersecurity said that this proposed legislation is for this "modern era". 

As the Assistance and Access Bill 2018 gets ready to go through Parliament, an industry group that includes tech giants like Google, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo! and Microsoft are calling for a “constructive and public dialogue” with the Australian government.  

Experts in the cybersecurity field are concerned about a lack of judicial oversight, pointing out that this policy is out of step with privacy laws elsewhere. 

This bill has not reached parliament as yet, and it is not clear when it could become law.