Users ofencryption technologycan no longer
refuse to reveal keys to UK authorities after amendments to the
powers of the state to intercept communications took effect this
week, reports legal websiteout-law.com
.
The
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) has had a clause
activated which allows a person to be compelled to reveal a
decryption key. Refusal can earn someone a five-year jail term.
Part III of RIPA was in the original act but was not activated.
The Home Office said last year that it had not implemented the
provision because encryption had not been as popular as quickly as
it had predicted.
It launched a consultation which culminated in Part III being
made active on 1 October.
The measure has been criticised by civil liberties activists and
security experts who say that the move erodes privacy and could
lead a person to be forced to incriminate themselves.
It is also controversial because a decryption key is often a
long password - something that might be forgotten. An accused
person might pretend to have forgotten the password, or he might
genuinely have forgotten it, but struggle to convince a court to
believe him.
Section 49 of Part III of RIPA compels a person, when served
with a notice, to either hand over an encryption key or render the
requested material intelligible by authorities.
Anyone who refuses to decrypt material could face five years in
jail if the investigation relates to terrorism or national
security, or up to two years in jail in other cases.
The Home Office said the process will be overseen by the
Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Intelligence
Services Commissioner and the Chief Surveillance Commissioner.