Some very important people think encryption is a very bad thing, which could have serious ramifications at all political levels. But at least a pair of Representatives want to stop such rumblings from becoming a problem at the state level.


The Verge reports that Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Blake Farenthold (R-TX) will today propose a bill that would “effectively override” any state-level encryption bills that proved misguided or ineffective.

The bill, snappily named ENCRYPT—that’s Ensuring National Constitutional Rights of Your Private Telecommunications Act—is said to be a reaction to state-level encryption bills that have already been proposed in California and New York. Those pieces of legislation—actually identical bills with the exact same wording—would try to ban encryption on phones sold in the states.


While that’s dumb on a number of levels, Lieu and Farenthold are said to be concerned about the impact the laws may have on trade: Differing encryption regulations in various states would make selling phones pretty damn tricky for manufacturers, something that clearly hasn’t been thought through in detail.

Of course, there’s plenty of chatter about encryption among policy makers right now, so you can expect the conversation—and the proposal of bills—to run.

[The Verge]

Image by Tony Webster