Tech companies await the final version of a new Chinese law that targets terrorism by providing the government more powers to use decryption. According to experts, the current wording of the law is vague, and thus the actual implications of the legislation are unclear.

Owen D. Nee, a Greenberg Traurig attorney and lecturer at Columbia and NYU law schools, said that the law “creates a duty” but doesn’t specify how it will be “exercised.” He added, “When China writes a law like this, vagueness is an intended consequence.”

Nee said that the law could possibly require Internet service providers to aid the government in decryption. Pam Dixon, the executive director of the World Privacy Forum, said that it’s possible tech companies will pull out of China in order to protect user data, or the law could have virtually no effect on the tech industry in the country.

The law “gives even broader rights [to the government] which is troubling,” Dixon said. “There’s already a lot of censorship.”

Currently, telecommunication companies and Internet service providers are likely providing opinions on drafts as tech companies lobby to Chinese authorities. A report from the Xinhua news agency stated that Li Shouwei of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee legislative affairs commission “admitted that a number of countries and enterprises had voice concerns about certain provisions of the law” at a recent press conference.

Chinese officials responded to criticisms by exposing the hypocrisy of the United States in regards to anti-terrorism initiatives. A commentary published by Xinhua said, “In short, the U.S. criticism against China’s anti-terrorism legislation is but yet another case of Washington’s application of double standards in dealing with issues of terrorism.”

Article via: LegalTech News, 29 December 2015

Photo: Chinese Warships Visit Portsmouth by Defence Images

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