Australian Parliament has been evaluating the proposed encryption bill, which is presently one of the most controversial bills out there. Upon turning into legislation, this bill would permit law enforcement to read encrypted messages by sourcing them from tech companies by the issue of notices.
The Proposed Bill
Cyber laws are an emerging and evolving branch of law and is, by its innate nature, extremely dynamic. This being the case, there are frequent conflict of laws, where one restricts the other.
The Australian Encryption Bill was rolled out in order to facilitate better security for the nation by legitimizing access to encrypted messages by the Government Agencies and Police. This would help them investigate without the apprehension of getting involved in an unlawful act.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been pushing to speed things up and stands strongly in support of this Bill.
Further, Dutton has been pushing for the proposed Bill to be considered after certain terror activities were recently busted in Australia. Therefore, to ensure a speedy and effective investigation in par with the nation’s judicial requirements, the Home Affairs Minister has reportedly urged for an early consideration of the Encryption Bill.
The Future Effect
This proposed bill is likely to unveil several criminal activities by enabling the Police to investigate better. Asserting the same, Angus Taylor, the present Energy Minister, who previously held the portfolio of Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity, made the following statement.
Angus Taylor said
“We’ve got to ensure criminals, terrorists, and pedophiles have nowhere to hide. At the moment, they’re hiding behind encryption”
The proposed Bill, if passed would turn out to be a two-edged sword in the hands of the Police and the Government. Further, it would allow the Government Agencies and Police to issue three types of Notices to the tech companies. These include Technical Assistance Notices, Technical Capability Notices, and Technical Assistance Requests.
Although the proposed Bill sounds arbitrary as of now but coupled with good Governance, this Legislation could do more good than harm in the long run.