The same will apply to terrorists and other hardened criminals. Because the burden of proof is placed on defendants to show they are not withholding information. Defendants must prove they do not have the key. Misplacing the encryption key or forgetting it will not be a defence. Worse, if defendants complain about their treatment in public, they face another five years.
Companies are also worried.
The Institute of Directors is anxious about the data governments could collect, jeopardising the confidentiality of commercial communications. It has warned that businesses will shun Britain and invest in countries such as Ireland, where the law is not so draconian. ISPs will have to spend 17m on black boxes in the first year alone. The Home Office denies that warrants could be issued on spurious grounds, saying safeguards have been built into the bill to prevent this. But few critics have been satisfied by such assurances.