US bill aims to stop state bans of encrypted phones - CNET

Imagine not being able to buy an iPhone in your state because the phone's data is protected by encryption. A couple of Congressmen are trying to make sure a scenario like that can't happen.

The Encrypt Act of 2016, short for Ensuring National Constitutional Rights of Your Private Telecommunications Act, would ensure that states do not have the power to block the sale of encrypted smartphones or require manufacturers to equip their phones with a back door to access private data. The bill is set to be introduced Wednesday by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas).

Encryption is built into Apple's iPhone, Android phones and other smartphones to ensure that your personal data is safe and secure from prying eyes. An encryption key is needed to decrypt the data, which the smartphone manufacturers do not possess.

The bill comes as lawmakers and Silicon Valley tech giants are trying to figure out how to compromise on device encryption. Some law enforcement officials, including FBI Director James Comey, have spoken out against the increased use of encryption on phones. Data stored on phones, they argue, could be useful in investigations against ordinary criminals as well as suspected terrorists.

The bill is a reaction to proposals from New York and Califoia, which would ban encrypted smartphones in their respective states and fine manufacturers of such phones. Assuming those proposals were tued into law, smartphone companies would be required to enable decryption of smartphone data on phones made after 2017.