ACLU Statement on Encryption Bill

WASHINGTON — A discussion draft of proposed bill written by Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) published last night would require companies to give the government access to encrypted communications.

Neema Singh Guliani, legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, had this reaction:

“This bill is a clear threat to everyone’s privacy and security. Instead of heeding the warnings of experts, the senators have written a bill that ignores economic, security, and technical reality. It would force companies to deliberately weaken the security of their products by providing backdoors into the devices and services that everyone relies on. Senators Burr and Feinstein should abandon their efforts to create a government backdoor.”