In response to Apple’s reluctance to aid U.S. authorities in cracking iPhone encryption, one French politician is proposing a 1 million euro fine for every iPhone Apple refuses to unlock in France, Le Parisien reports.
French Socialist MP Yann Galut noted eight instances where phones tied to terrorist attacks have been inaccessible to police, suggesting that stiff fines might compel companies like Apple and Google to cooperate with authorities. “Only money will force these extremely powerful companies like Apple and Google to comply,” he said.
Like U.S.
government representatives, Galut said his amendment wouldn’t affect the privacy of the public at large, only those who are under investigation. The proposed law would mandate limiting access to the smartphone encryption key to prosecutors or judges involved in court proceedings where phones or laptops are entered as evidence, but Apple has strongly rejected the idea that such a creation can ever be safely kept out of the wrong hands once it exists.
