Possible EU Proposals Could Weaken Encryption, CCIA Warns

The Computer & Communications Industry Association raised concerns Tuesday about a joint France-Germany push for what the industry group believes is a plan to weaken encryption. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière called Tuesday for EU legislation aimed at clarifying the rights and obligations of telcos and ISPs doing business in EU countries, including “obligations on operators deemed uncooperative in the removal of illegal content or decryption of messages.” Meanwhile, the European Commission is working on a new “ePrivacy proposal” that likely will include a loophole that allows governments to request access to encrypted data, CCIA said. “We are worried that EU proposals can allow governments to challenge end-to-end encryption and thus threaten the security and confidentiality of Europeans' communications,” said CCIA Europe Director Christian Borggreen in a statement. “It is certainly understandable that some would respond to recent tragedies with backdoors and more government access. But weakened security ultimately leaves online systems more vulnerable to all types of attacks from terrorists to hackers. This should be a time to increase security -- not weaken it.”