US President Barack Obama is criticizing the new technology laws that China wants to implement, and is urging the country to change its policy if it wants to continue to have partnerships with the US.
The Chinese government's proposed new regulations require technology companies to create backdoors to allow the government to access the source code of any operating system or software released on the local market.
China is also requiring technology companies to adopt encryption algorithms from China and to disclose substantial intellectual property data.
The new requirements, set out in a 22-page document approved late last year, aim to strengthen cybersecurity in critical industrial infrastructure and guard against terrorism.
In an interview with Reuters, Barack Obama said that Beijing's anti-terrorism laws require technology companies to hand over encryption keys and install backdoors in their systems, thereby giving Chinese authorities access to their data.
The proposed laws "would essentially force all foreign companies, including American companies, to hand over to the Chinese government mechanisms so they can spy on and monitor all users of those services," Obama added.
The disagreement marks another difference in cybersecurity policy between the US and China, with relations still very tense following ongoing US allegations of Chinese cyber espionage and the Snowden revelations.
Snowden's revelations showed that the US doesn't even need to legislate to monitor user data globally. They simply do so in violation of existing laws.
The law in China, at least, explicitly states the goal and prerequisites for companies to cooperate.
Who really trusts Microsoft (Windows), Apple , and Google, after all that has been revealed?
Data protection advocates point out that what China is asking for is similar to what the US is asking for from phone companies (PDF).
But the most worrying things from the United States' side are the things they don't ask for but get themselves.
Source: secnews.gr
