UK Commissioner Wants 10-years for Refusing Access to Encrypted Data

Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, will this week propose a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone refusing to provide police with details of how to access encrypted information on their computers.

Dozens of computers have been seized in the UK and Italy in the wake of the recent bombings. At present, police can hold suspects for a maximum of 14 days under terrorism legislation, often insufficient time to break into whatever information their computers may contain.

'A lot of the stuff that we have on computers is encrypted, and for that reason I am interested in creating an offence of refusing to reveal an encryption key,' Blair said. 'It has to be punishable by a term of at least 10 years.'

However, the civil rights group Liberty says the proposals are 'like suggesting that the police should be able to steam open your mail after you've put it in the post box'.