California Proposed Bill AB-1681 – Smartphones
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Findings:
> (t) Technology-facilitated sex trafficking networks rely upon anonymity of victims and traffickers in order to operate. Fully encrypted smartphones, immune to search warrants, make this possible.
Additions to the law:
> (b) A smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, and sold or leased in California, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.
> (c) A smartphone manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, that is not capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider shall be subject the manufacturer or operating system provider to a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each smartphone sold or leased in California if the manufacturer or operating system provider of the smartphone knew at the time of the sale or lease that the smartphone was not capable of being decrypted and unlocked by the manufacturer or its operating system provider. A manufacturer or operating system provider who pays a civil penalty imposed pursuant to this subdivision shall not pass on any portion of that penalty to purchasers of smartphones.
So, any already-owned (or purchased outside the state) phone is exempt. No terrorist would ever think of that.