EU seeks to outlaw backdoors in new data privacy proposalshttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/19/eu-outlaw-backdoors-new-data-privacy-proposals-uk-government-encrypted-communications-whatsapp<< The European Union is considering banning the implementation of so-called "backdoors" that allow the reading of encrypted messaging, a move that would place it in conflict with the UK government's desire to have access to all secure communications. The draft report by the European parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs says the data protection regulations have not kept pace with advances in technology and that amendments to the 2002 Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications (ePrivacy) are required.
Part of the amendments, proposed by the European Commission in January and now reviewed by the European parliament, look to deal with so-called over-the-top (OTT) services. The services replicate the functionality of traditional communications systems, such as landline telephones, but aren’t not regulated in the same way and so are not affording similar protections.
For example, the UK government has repeatedly called for ways to gain access to encrypted communications such as the end-to-end encryption (E2EE) used by Signal and WhatsApp, which prevents the interception of private messages.
The EU draft proposal categorically rules out such measures. It says: "The providers of electronic communications services shall ensure that there is sufficient protection in place against unauthorised access or alterations to the electronic communications data, and that the confidentiality and safety of the transmission are also guaranteed by the nature of the means of transmission used, or by state-of-the-art end-to-end encryption of the electronic communications data. Furthermore, when encryption of electronic communications data is used, decryption, reverse engineering or monitoring of such communications shall be prohibited." >>
