[tor-talk] HR4681 Sec 309 communication privacy legislation

[Tim Mitchell]

Morning all,


If no one has yet seen Section 309 of US HR4681, it contains some very dubious language that sounds like it is legalizing indefinite government retention of encrypted communications. The text is as follows (Section 309.b.3.B.iii):

(B) Limitation on retention.--A covered communication shall 
 not be retained in excess of 5 years, unless--
.... 
(iii) the communication is enciphered or reasonably 
 believed to have a secret meaning;



This might be going out on a limb here, but "enciphered" and "reasonably believed to have a secret meaning" could easily be interpreted to apply to any and all encrypted Internet traffic, including Tor.


I'd be curious as to what experts in this area think about this, and how to go about raising awareness if this is indeed as serious as it sounds to me.


Full text of the bill can be found here:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4681



Thanks,
Tim