California joins New York, introducing bill requiring smartphones to be decryptable

Cyrus Farivar, writing for Ars Technica:

A second state lawmaker has now introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of smartphones with unbreakable encryption. Except this time, despite very similar language to a pending New York bill, the stated rationale is to fight human trafficking, rather than terrorism.

Specifically, California Assemblymember Jim Cooper’s (D-Elk Grove) new bill, which was introduced Wednesday, would “require a smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, and sold in California, to be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.”

The dominos are falling.

Here’s a link to the bill. Interestingly, the wording is almost identical to the New York bill, including the $2,500 fine for each smartphone sold or leased.

From the Dormant Commerce Clause Wikipedia page:

The idea behind the dormant Commerce Clause is that this grant of power implies a negative converse—a restriction prohibiting a state from passing legislation that improperly burdens or discriminates against interstate commerce. The restriction is self-executing and applies even in the absence of a conflict between state and federal statutes, but Congress may allow states to pass legislation that would otherwise be forbidden by the dormant Commerce Clause.

Keep your eyes on this one.