Back doors, black boxes and #IPAct technical capability regulations

Some interesting passages:-

> The new IPAct communications data requirements, however, include a paragraph under which a technical capability notice could require a provider to install a government-provided 'black box': "10. To install and maintain any apparatus provided to the operator by or on behalf of the Secretary of State for the purpose of enabling the operator to obtain or disclose communications data, including by providing and maintaining any apparatus, systems or other facilities or services necessary to install and maintain any apparatus so provided".

> A technical capability notice would also be able to require the operator to "consider" the obligations and requirements imposed by any technical capability notice when designing or developing new telecommunications services or telecommunications systems.

> The most controversial aspect of technical capability notices throughout the passage of the Bill was whether the obligation to remove encryption could be used to prevent use of end to end encryption. The proposed IP Act regulations say (for interception):"8. To provide and maintain the capability to disclose, where practicable, the content of communications or secondary data in an intelligible form and to remove electronic protection applied by or on behalf of the telecommunications operator to the communications or data, or to permit the person to whom the warrant is addressed to remove such electronic protection".

> For a technical capability notice the central concept is technical feasibility. Clearly it is not technically feasible for an operator who provides its users with true end-to-end encryption facilities to remove the encryption, since it has no decryption key.