If in the USA the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), seems to tip the scales in favor of the legal battle he is fighting with FBI, in France things are starting to get complicated, the French deputies voting an amendment to a law that would send to prison the managers of companies that do not cooperate with the police.
More precisely, if the police or a government organization would ask for data from an electronic device, and the manager of the company that produced it refuses to give them the data, as happens in the USA, he risks a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a fine of 270.000 euros.
Although it was voted by Chamber of Deputies of the French Parliament, the amendment still needs to be voted by the Senate and then by the National Assembly before it can be promulgated by the president, so it cannot be applied right from this moment.
Although there is still a long time before the amendment is voted on and included in the law, the terrorist attacks of last year will certainly motivate many senators to give a favorable vote to this amendment, especially since France is organizing Euro 2016 in the summer and will need a lot of information to prevent further terrorist attacks.
The controversial amendment, drafted by the rightwing opposition, stipulates that a private company which refuses to hand over encrypted data to an investigating authority would face up to five years in jail and a €350,000 (£270,000) fine.
The vote from French Chamber of Deputies it is closely related to the dispute between Apple and the FBI, in the USA amendments of this kind are not proposed for voting by senators or members of the House of Representatives, but in other countries things are precipitated before justice is involved.
If this amendment is adopted in France, then Apple could be forced to compress iOS security or withdraw iPhones from sale, otherwise its managers risk being involved in complex and long-lasting processes.
