CHIP CHAT

Quirky news from the world of geekdom

TECH COMPANIES RESPONSIBLE FOR DECRYPTING COMMUNICATIONS OF SUSPECTED CRIMINALS. Australia is leading the way in giving local authorities the power to coerce tech companies to decrypt communications of users suspected of serious crimes like terrorism, child sex offences or drug and gun-related crimes with penalties greater than three years of gaol time. This bill has passed both houses of parliament and while, Labor agreed to the bill with some constitutional amendments, the fundamental laws have already ascended to legislation with only a few elements requiring a 28-day notification period before taking effect. An international consortium of tech companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft have condemned the bill as “overly broad and lacking in independent oversight”.