Puzzle of the Day


Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) are drafting a law called “Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016”. This bill, according to The Hill, says that “all persons receiving an authorized judicial order for information or data must provide, in a timely manner, responsive, intelligible information or data, or appropriate technical assistance to obtain such information or data” (p. 2, ll. 16–21), and further that a “provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public that distributes licenses for products, services, applications, or software of or by a covered entity shall ensure that any such products, services, applications, or software distributed by such person be capable of” (p. 4, ll. 10–16) complying with the above requirement. The covered entities include device and software manufacturers, and “any person who provides a product or method to facilitate a communication or the processing or storage of data.” (p. 6, ll. 23–25).

What would the effect of such a law be upon:

  1. The iPhone or Android encryption mechanisms?
  2. Using encryption to protect emails?
  3. App marketplaces like Apple's App store or Google's Marketplace?

You can also obtain a PDF version of this. Version of October 3, 2016 at 12:15AM